09 February 2024 , 23:21
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Meet the real-life Golden Girls - Joan Harris, Elsie Webb, Sylvia Crane, and Mary Grace Tassone.
These best friends met in their school days at Mt. St. Mary's Academy in Grass Valley, California, in the 1950s, and are now living together in their 80s at Atria Senior Living, a retirement community not far from their old school.
The ladies, who all went their separate ways after school to start careers and raise families, have been reunited and are enjoying their time together.
"I think friendship is really important and having old friends is wonderful," Crane told Good Morning America. "There are so many of us that are gone and it's very important to me to know that I still have these three wonderful women around me."
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These four woman in their 80s are livelong buddied who all ended up in the same retirement home (Atria Senior Living)When Crane moved into Atria Senior Living last July, she was thrilled to see her old friends. "When I came in the dining room, all three of them were there," Crane said. "It was a nice feeling." Harris also felt instantly at home when she saw Tassone in the lobby upon moving in.
Harris said: "They were friendly faces in a strange place, friendly faces that I knew who they were, and I knew their backgrounds,". She didn't need to tell her life story as they already knew it.
Tassone has been living there the longest, for three years, after becoming a nurse post-graduation. She revealed she regularly gets together with old school pals to watch films and listen to music.
Crane mentioned: "We talk about different things from high school," reflecting on past shared experiences.
The women have 12 children between them, but when their husbands died and children moved out, they moved in together (Atria Senior Living)Remembering an elderly nun from school, Crane shares, "Like, we had a little, old nun .... and she made root beer every night. And every noon time, she would bring the root beer out of the cellar, and ring a little bell and we all had our quarter for our mug of root beer."
Harris chimed in with another memory: "She sold candy bars too." With such tight friendship, Harris, Crane, Tassone, and Webb plan to live together for a long while.
According to the American Psychological Association, friendship benefits go beyond satisfaction, potentially securing better health and lower mortality risks.
Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University, pointed out: "On the other hand, when people are low in social connection of isolation, loneliness, or poor-quality relationships face an increased risk of premature death."