Evan Devine and his twin brother Eric celebrated their 65th birthday on Monday. They had been looking forward to a big celebration that was planned at the Legion for this past weekend.
Due to the pandemic, those plans had to be put on hold. However, it didn’t stop Evan's brother-in-law, David Campbell and his wife Nancy Phillips, from doing something special to celebrate the milestone birthdays.
Campbell gathered about a dozen family members and close friends at St. David Anglican and Lutheran Church Monday evening where they all decorated their cars with happy birthday signs and best wishes.
“It’s so difficult to have a milestone birthday that is so special during times like we are living in,” Campbell said. “We thought this is a way to send our best wishes and hopefully make them smile.”
The group of vehicles paraded by Evan’s house on Moffat Street in Orillia, honking their horns and wishing happy birthday from their cars.
“It was pretty wild, I was certainly surprised,” Evan Devine said. “When I heard the cars honking outside the house I thought, some kid is having a birthday down the street and they are doing the drive-by, I was totally surprised when I came outside and it was for me.”
The party then drove over to Carter Crescent to deliver the same surprise to Evan’s twin brother, Eric.
“You turn 65 and you hope for a party but that was great, I was surprised,” Eric said.
Despite being disappointed about the original birthday celebration plans being cancelled, Eric Devine has a first-hand understanding of the gravity of the pandemic as his wife Ally is working the front lines as a registered nurse.
“She comes right in the garage when she comes home. We disinfect the door and her boots, her clothes go straight into the laundry and I turn the shower on ahead so she doesn’t have to touch anything,” Eric said.
Both brothers look forward to the end of COVID-19 so they can enjoy their big birthday celebration as planned with family and friends.
