Woman, 94, crosses US to see sister, 90, possibly for last time: ‘Don’t say goodbye!’

Video of farewell between Barbara Carolan and her sister, Shirley, warms collective heart of the oft-callous internet after going viral

A 94-year-old woman from New Hampshire traveled across the US to see her 90-year-old sister for possibly the last time, and a video of their farewell – initially intended to be just for family – has warmed the collective heart of the oft-callous internet after going viral.

“We’re going to see each other again,” Barbara Carolan was told by her younger sister, Shirley, on the emotional clip, which was viewed widely on the social media platform TikTok. “If we don’t see each other on this earth, we’ll see you in heaven.”

Barbara, sobbing, replied: “You betcha – you betcha.”

The sisters’ conversation was emblematic of the uncertainty that loved ones who live long distances from each other face whenever opportunities to spend time together reach an end.

As her relatives told it to the New Hampshire ABC affiliate WMUR, Barbara had not seen her sister Shirley since 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was particularly risky for elderly people.

Barbara recently decided to travel more than 2,700 miles from her home in Seabrook, New Hampshire, to visit Shirley in Nevada after telling herself, “I really think this will be the last time I see my sister,” her granddaughter Stephanie Shively told WMUR.

Shively accompanied Barbara on the trip and filmed the sisters’ goodbye.

“They waited so long to see each other and if you don’t know if you’re going to see someone again – you know, especially siblings – it must be really hard,” Shively remarked.

On the night before her return to New Hampshire, Barbara spoke to Shirley as her granddaughter recorded.

“We had a wonderful, wonderful life,” Barbara said to Shirley. Shirley, for her part, said: “Don’t say goodbye!”

“I’m not going to,” Barbara replied. “There’s no way I’m going to say goodbye to you.”

Shively published a video of the conversation on TikTok for family members to see. But in short order, she realized it had gone well beyond the family – having gone viral and attracting news coverage, it had accumulated about 13m views as of Tuesday.

Countless people had contacted Shively to tell her the video inspired them to reach out to someone they loved.

Shively told WMUR she was just glad she and Barbara – whom she calls Gigi – were able to provide a moment of warmth to a world which generates so much bleak news.

“Especially with how crazy the world can get, just to see the happiness that’s bringing” was nice, Shively said to WMUR.

Shively said Barbara and Shirley were amazed at the response generated by their conversation, seen as a reminder that everyone’s time alive is limited.

“What if this was your last time to see your loved one?” Shively said to WMUR. “Are you telling them the things that you want to tell them or you’re saying the things that you want to say? Because if you’re not, you may not get a chance again.”

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