Couple Dies On The Same Day (12 Hours Apart) After 71 Years Of Marriage

They were the best of friends and in love with one another. Each of them were the others second half. After being together for 71 years, they both died on the same day exactly 12 hours apart. The Waynesboro, Georgia couple had a fairy tale type romance with one another. They were meant to be together in this lifetime. 

When 94-year-old Herbert DeLaigle died at 2:20 AM on Friday night, his 88-year-old wife Frances died 12 hours later at 2:20 PM. They were inseparable, according to those who knew them. It is a sad but touching story. Love like this, doesn’t come around very often. 

Decades ago, Marilyn was 16 years old and Herbert was 22. He mustered up the courage to ask her out on a date at the café where she worked. He would end up proposing to her there a year later. 

Herbert said, “Frances was working in a small cafe at the White Way Cafe, and when I saw her, my eyes froze on her and continued to look while she walked between the tables. Then I finally got up my courage and asked her if we could meet and she agreed to go with me in the cinema. I never would have dreamed that we would’ve got this far, and I hope we go a few more years on that.”

When asked the secret to their decades-long romance, Herbert gave a simple answer: “Show your love.”

Their cause of death isn’t clear but it is believed they died from broken heart syndrome, a condition where intense physical or emotional stress, can cause sudden severe weakness of the heart muscle, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. 

Broken heart syndrome is a real thing, when someone learns tragic news of a loved one the body can react physically and mentally. The heart becomes overwhelmed with stress hormones, releasing them into their bloodstream. A reaction takes place and it can quickly turn fatal.

The couple leaves behind 6 children, 16 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great-grandchildren.

(Source: People)