Forever Friends

Catherine Plummer knows not everyone you call “family” is a blood relative – there are some friends who feel like more. This is the kind of relationship she has with her best friend, Dottie Heffner, who she has known for 60 years.

“We feel like we’re sisters,” Catherine said.

Catherine and Dottie first met through their husbands, who were best friends. Although Catherine and her husband, Dick, met at the University of South Carolina – the state where Catherine grew up – he had lived and attended high school in Elizabethtown, which was how he met Glenn, Dottie’s husband.

Members of Dick and Glenn’s high school graduating class would get together the second Tuesday of every month for breakfast, and, even though Catherine and Dick were several hours away, he still wanted to spend time with the group, so they would drive down and stay at Dottie and Glen’s house from Monday night until after the breakfast. Some of Catherine’s best memories of their friendship are from those times.

“She claimed she didn’t like cooking, but she was really good at it,” she said.

The couples were able to see each other more often once they both started living at Masonic Village. Catherine and Dick came first, then Dottie and Glen. A lot has changed in both women’s lives since they first arrived. Their husbands have both passed away – Dick two and a half years ago, and Glenn this year – but they still have each other for support and companionship.

“We just really care about each other,” Catherine said.

Dottie is now receiving nursing care services at the Masonic Health Care Center. Catherine tries to visit her at least three or four times a week.

“It helps Dottie that I’m there often,” Catherine said. “It helps her memory and keeps her grounded. She appreciates me coming.”

Sometimes Catherine and Dottie go to events together, but, often, they just talk.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. If the tables were turned, she would do the same for me. We’re friends,” Catherine said.