Coronavirus precautions kept Jerry and Beverley Lindell apart for the longest stretch of their 63-year marriage.
But there was no way Jerry was going to miss Beverley's 84th birthday.
He surprised her on March 26 by returning to their home in Litchfield, Minnesota, after he had been quarantined at a local nursing home with all the residents for precautionary reasons due to the coronavirus, according to NBC affiliate KARE.
Beverley cried tears of the joy as the two shared a sweet hug after their difficult time apart.
"I just thought we weren’t supposed to hug, but I couldn’t wait to grab him, so we hugged each other, and I cried and cried and cried," Beverley told KARE.
"It's something I'll never forget,'' Jerry said.
The couple, who met when they were 18 and got married two years later, had been in regular contact before COVID-19 restrictions kept them apart.
Jerry, 84, had been rehabilitating at Meeker Manor in Litchfield following a hospital stay, and Beverley had been taking a bus to see him every day before the coronavirus lockdown.
Beverley thought restrictions were still in effect when he came to surprise her with flowers, saying, "I can't hug you."
"Why can't you? I can hug you," Jerry replied, wrapping her up in a big embrace.
The two couldn't stop holding hands once they were by each other's side again.
"I won't let him go," Beverley said. "He's mine to keep."