93-year-old widower dines with photo of late wife

Clarence Purvis was married to his wife, Carolyn, for 63 years until she passed away in 2013. Though it’s been a few years since her death, Purvis, 93, is determined to keep a piece of his wife with him wherever he goes.

That’s why he’s gained a reputation around his hometown of Glennville, Georgia, for carrying around a framed photograph of Carolyn. He even sits it next to him while eating at his favorite restaurant, Smith’s Diner.

Purvis says the lifelong romance he shared with his wife was everything he could have asked for.

“Eat lunch, come back, watch television, go to bed, love one another. What more you want?” he told WTOC. “We had everything we wanted.”

Hear Purvis talk more about the love he shared with his wife in the touching clip below:

Many have suggested that a new girlfriend might help heal Purvis’ wounds. While he’s not interested in finding love again, he says if his wife had a say in the matter, she would encourage him to do what makes him happy.

“They said if I get me a girlfriend things will be better,” he told the news station. “I could ask her, could I get me a girlfriend? You know what she’d say? If you want to. That’s how we operated.”

Keeping her photo on him at all times and continuing their tradition of lunch dates isn’t the only way Purvis honors his late wife’s memory. He visits her grave site up to four times a day, telling WTOC he estimates he goes there about 125 times a month.

Purvis also keeps photos and mementos of his late wife in his home, including a lamp that has not been turned off since Carolyn came home from the hospital before passing away.

“Ain’t nobody loved one another more than me and my wife loved one another,” Purvis said. “I wanted what she wanted and she wanted what I wanted.”