A 59-year-old woman spoke of her love for her husband who died.
The couple with Down Syndrome were married for 26 years and Paul passed away at the age of 56.
Kris Scharoun-DeForge paid tribute to her husband and her family and friends gathered at a lake near New York’s Adirondack Mountains to pay tribute to Paul.
Kris and Paul met first in 1988 and dated for five years, they became one of the first couples in the world with Down syndrome to get married.point 235 |
Paul fought a long battle with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and left the world leaving his wife widowed.point 99 | Kris talked about their strong bond and the unconditional support they gave to each other.point 175 | point 175 | 1
She told CBS: “I proposed to him,”
“I whispered in his ear, ‘Would you marry me?’ And he looked up at me with this big beautiful smile and he shook his head ‘Yes!’ And that’s when I knew.”
“He got me laughing and everything. He was the one for me.”
Kris’ elder sister Susan Scharoun said that the couple had to go through a lot of resistance during their initial courtship.
“Yea, there really was quite a bit of resistance. There was a feeling that it was like children getting married versus two very capable adults,” Susan said.
“What I hope is that other families will entertain this, you know, other people will recognize the importance of this kind of intimate love.“
At the ceremony, Kris spread a portion of her husband’s ashes near the lake where he loved to fish. The rest will be mixed with hers and buried together when her time to leave the world comes.
Kris added: “People like us need to have a chance. A chance to find the man of your dreams, like I did.“
When asked if she is going to be able to be happy again, Kris said: “I just lost the man that I love, but I’m going to try.“
They lived together in an apartment in a state-supported sheltered housing project for people with disabilities.