There is no denying that twins share a special bond. Throughout the years, many studies have documented this undeniable connection that twins, whether fraternal or identical, share with each other. Studies have even found that the bond between twins has also been shown to increase the longevity of life, theorized to be due to the comfort and social support that comes with knowing that somebody else always has your back.
One set of twins is proof of this longevity. In January 2019, David Mosher and Winnie Mosher Merrill, who hail from Brunswick, Maine, were thrilled to be able to hit their milestone 80th birthday together. However, even though they were delighted to be able to celebrate the occasion marking their day of birth, they were upstaged by one very special guest – their 103-year-old mother.
Their mom, Helen Mosher, was also on hand to ring in the birthday with her children, watching them blow out their candles. Friends and family were also there to celebrate the twins, who were all smiles about still being able to share their joy with their mother.
Helen has seen a lot in her day. But it is clear that being part of the 80th birthday celebration for her twins was one of the highlights of her life. David and Winnie couldn’t hide their happiness as family members and friends circled around them to sing “Happy Birthday.” The sweet moment was even documented on video for everyone near and far to enjoy.
But while 2019 started on a high for the Moshers, by the end of the year, tragedy would hit.
Helen was born on Sept. 17, 1915, in Vale, South Dakota, the first daughter in her family of 10 children. After the celebration to mark her twins’ 80th birthday, Helen passed on Dec. 16, 2019.
Helen lived a long and eventful life, detailed in an obituary published by Central Maine. The outlet wrote that the beloved matriarch “mothered more than 80 direct decedents, each of whom carries her enduring legacy of grace, piety and generosity.”
It added her “lifetime in Maine transcended the travails of living history through the Great Depression and multiple wartime services, to which she was no stranger as her Gold Star family gave handsomely to the causes of our nation,” before going into her family life.
“Having met Charles Mosher, the love of her life, she moved from her family home in Windsor to their first home in Benton Station where they raised a family, before moving to their final home overlooking China Lake. It was here that they lived their elder lives in the company of the huge family they bore spending summers at small cottages on Pine Point on China Lake hosting regular family gatherings and their rapidly multiplying grandchildren,” the obituary read.
Besides the twins, Helen also had an eldest son Richard, all three of whom she was survived by at the time of her passing. They remembered her for her “emphasis on education, family history and summers on China Lake with heavy cookie jar lids, eating white perch for supper, Red Sox games on the radio, motor boats, painted rocks leading to the shore, slamming screen doors, the aromatic scent of pine needles and, always, her humming melodies somewhere in the house not far away.”
As for the twins, they will always have memories of their special 80th birthday to remember their mother by.
How lucky were the twins to be able to celebrate their 80th birthday, not only with each other but with their mother as well? Do you have such a memorable birthday too? Let us know, and be sure to pass this on to friends and family, too.
