Gary Saling was a celebrated architect, but he spent everything for love. When his wife became seriously ill, he promised her to never put her in a house – and took care of her care until her last breath. To survive, the 80-year-old today has to pack shopping bags.
Gary Saling, 80 years old, elegantly dressed and always polite, is probably the most sweet supermarket employee in the United States. But his place between fruit boxes and shopping bags is not a result of boredom in retirement. No, it is the price of a wedding promise that he gave his wife Carol – and kept iron.
An oath lets him lose everything
“I promised her that I never placed her in a nursing home – and I did,” the man explains with the deep voice. For two years he let nurses enter the house every day. A total of around $ 80,000 cost the care, which his wife needed with two forms of dementia until her death in 2021.
Carol died. Love remained. And with her a huge financial gap. Gary Saling had invested all his assets to keep the promise. The villa in Utah, on which a mortgage is still being loaded, could not save it.
So the once -celebrated architect returned to a job that he had done the most as a teenager – in a supermarket in St. George. There are Salen behind the cashier, the purchases of the customers pack in a bag after buying the conveyor belt and then even invites them to their cars – at the age of 80.
From a millionaire architects to the cash courts
Salen was once a star in his industry. In California he designed huge dream villas for the “who’s who” of the financial world. His office even came four times in the “Architectural Digest Top 100” – a famous list of the most renowned and influential architecture offices and interior designers worldwide.
“My wife and I met in the park in 1990,” says Gary about his deceased wife Carol. “It was love at first sight.” They got married when their children grew up with earlier relationships. Together they moved to Montana, then Utah – ready for a quiet pension. But fate meant it differently.
When Supermarket Master -customer Duana Johnson noticed the older gentleman in the supermarket and heard his story, she didn’t want to be over. She started a call for donations on Facebook – and it went viral.
Almost $ 40,000 came together within a few days. This is enough money for Salen to be able to recognize his job at the end of June. He can hardly put his thanks in words for the generosity of his fellow people: “Many call me a hero or angel, but I have never been. I have only followed my marriage vow, in good times.” He believes that Carol had his hand in the game, so that he “can just enjoy my last years”.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
