Not many can lay claim to fulfilling their vow of ’till death do us part’.
But for one California couple, who had been married an incredible 62 years, that’s precisely what happened.
The family of Don and Maxine Simpson say they were two people brought together by fate and left each other in the same, dying just four hours apart .
‘I knew in my heart this is what’s supposed to happen – Grandma and grandpa are supposed to be together and grandma and grandpa are going to die together,’ granddaughter Melissa Sloan told KERO News.
Two weeks ago, Don was at home when he fell, breaking his hip.
He was taken to hospital, but his health continued to decline.
At the same time, the cancer his wife had been fighting for hers started to progress as well.
‘I told my sister on the phone, we got one shot to get them together,’ Sloan said.
The family that, despite the situation, Don and Maxine would demand to be together, so they were both moved to a spare room in the family’s home.
‘We kept them together, and had their beds side-by-side,’ Sloan said.
‘Gram woke up and saw him, and held hands and they knew that they were next to each other.’
It wasn’t long after that, holding her husband’s hand, Maxine took her last breath.
‘I walked them out with her body, walked back in to check on grandpa and he quit breathing as soon as her body left the room,’ Sloan told KERO News.
Happy: The pair had spent a long, happy life together and their two sons [Photo Credit: Melissa Sloan]
‘It’s just amazing. It really is amazing. It’s a true love story.’
Don, a civil engineer in North Dakota, was stationed in Bakersfield, where he met Maxine at a bowling alley.
The two traveled the world together and adopted two songs along the way.
