Couple to Get Married at Funeral Home

Couple to Get Married at Funeral Home

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) - Daisy Judy and John Franko are getting married at the same place where they mourned the death of their spouses. The couple, both 62, selected Richards Raff & Dunbar Memorial Home as the place to get married.

They met there in 2004 while attending meetings of a grief-support group. Each was mourning the death of a spouse of more than 40 years.

"It sounds odd, but we've grown so accustomed to the place," Judy said.

Judy's husband, Joe, died about three months after being diagnosed with leukemia. Franko's wife, Kathy, had battled breast cancer for 20 years.

After attending the group meetings, the couple became bicycling partners and later passed evenings talking on Judy's porch.

"It just really grew from there," Judy said.

"We kind of are disappointed that we're not going to be attending the grief-support group, but we're not grieving anymore," she said with a smile.