After bride was given days to live, couple gets married after 19 years together
By Jason Burger
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — It was not a grand venue. It was not a church. But for this wedding, that didn’t matter.
Age was just a number for one Oklahoma City couple. For George Kelley, 72, and his soon-to-be wife, Becky Mason, 69, it was simply time to tie the knot.
“One thing led to another, and 19 years later, we’re here. Going to get married,” George said.
Nineteen years of dating brought the couple to this moment. Neither of them was looking for anything serious when they met, but now George said there is no other woman he would rather be with.
“She has a way of just pointing her finger and going ‘shhh,’ and it could make a football player just fall down,” George said.
George and Becky spent tons of time together. Time was of the essence.
There was a reason the wedding happened on Thursday, but it wasn’t originally planned that way.
“I realized that she’s almost to the end, and I try to be as strong as I can for her even though it’s not easy,” George said. “If I could take the cancer myself and have the cancer so she could continue to live, then I would. Gladly.”
Becky battled colorectal cancer for the last three years. This week, her doctor told her she is only expected to live a few more days.
“I’ve been her caregiver and her friend and her lover, and I’ll continue to be all of those things until she passes,” George said.
She was only been given 24 to 72 hours to live, and it was a race against the clock for Becky’s daughter, Erin, who was out of state planning her father’s funeral after he died this week.
Becky’s daughter tried to get back to Oklahoma by Friday to see her mom.
“Sometimes she doesn’t even call her kids because she doesn’t want them to know she’s hurting,” George said.
A GoFundMe was been set up for the family to help with Becky’s medical and memorial costs. Those interested in donating can do so here: gofundme.com/f/medical-costs-and-memorial-for-becky-mason?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer
On Sunday, the family confirmed Becky passed away. She was 69 years old.
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