Couple Stays in Family Home with a Little Help from Hospice

Published on August 14, 2022

Billy and Carol are sitting on their porch in Franklin, TN, laughing out loud as they recall the hijinx Billy and his twin Bobby got into as kids in this same house.

“His mother told me the two of them used to climb up ladders and explore the neighbors’ roofs when they were just little kids,” says Carol.

In those days, their street ended at an open field with a cherry tree in it. Billy and Bobby used to play hooky to fish the nearby Harpeth

“Once the school was giving sportsmanship awards, but when Bobby’s name was called, he was nowhere to be found. Someone called out from the back of the room that he was out there catching the big mouth bass,” Billy laughs.

At the tavern down the street, the twins were known as Bill-Bobby because even the bartender couldn’t tell them apart. When the boys joined the army in 1953, they boarded a bus at the downtown Franklin Square and eventually made their way to a base in Austria where they served their two years together.

Now, just a few months shy of 90, Billy still lives in his childhood home with his wife Carol, and Bobby visits nearly every day.

Carol and Billy have been married 48 years, and they still make each other laugh out loud. They navigate the house they’ve called home for a lifetime in wheelchairs after they both took a fall on the cement porch during the winter.

Around this time, the VA recommended that they get in touch with Alive. Billy has a heart condition, and Carol needed more help to be able to continue to take care of him in their home.

Their favorite part of Alive’s care is the people. When asked what the best part of the service has been Carol nods at their nurse Tana. “We love Tana. Everyone has just been wonderful. We even have a volunteer who comes to help out between visits from our nurse and nurse’s assistant.”