“Today is our 59th anniversary. It’s our first anniversary without her. She was sick for seven and a half years. We met at the beach in Florida. Daytona Beach. Summer vacation. I was with friends and she was with friends and we just happened to meet. She was very creative, very artistic, painted beautiful watercolors, had a gift shop in Cobb Lane in Birmingham for many years. She could decorate a house, was a perfect cook. She was a wonderful person.” – Bill Perrell of Hoover.

Perrell was visiting and adding flowers to the grave of his wife Peggy at the Alabama National Cemetery. She loved flowers. He served in the Army and is a Korean War veteran. They had two daughters together. He was her caregiver while she was sick. He says he misses having her around.

Bill Perrell, a Korean War veteran, was visiting the grave of his wife Peggy at the Alabama National Cemetery on what would have been their 59th wedding anniversary. (Tamika Moore / People of Alabama)

These are the faces and stories of people from all walks of life who call Alabama home. People of Alabama is a Red Clay Media and Alabama NewsCenter partnership.