Melody Teh
News

Cher to help 96-year-old woman with dementia return home

Cher is using her considerable clout to help a 96-year-old woman return to her long-time northern Virginia home.

Edith Hill had caught Cher’s attention last year after the singer saw a sad news story about her and her newlywed husband, Eddie Harrison.

Hill and Harrison had married at the respective ages of 95 and 96 but soon became embroiled in a court case dispute over whether Hill had the mental capacity to marry her husband as she suffers from mild dementia. Hill was taken away from Harrison and he died a few weeks after.

“He actually gave his life to this effort,” Rebecca Wright, Hill’s daughter said of Harrison. The two had been companions for more than a decade before they decided to get married.

Hill is still in a middle of a custody dispute over who should care for her and where she should live.

In frustration over the whole saga, Cher said she would pay for upgrades to Hill’s family home so she could be with her family.

“This whole thing is a travesty, what happens to old people,” she said. “Once they do the repairs and she comes back home, it’s going to be bittersweet because she only wanted to be with him.”

Cher also offered to pay medical expenses but the case is still ongoing despite a judge’s order that Hill should return to her family home.

“I think this is an important story,” Cher said. “It's not right what is going on.”

Related links: 

Meet 100-year-old Eileen Kramer. She’s the longest-living working choreographer and dancer

Couple married for 67 years die together holding hands

Photographer documents the days in the life of 80-plus women in New York City

Tags:
News, Cher