New York
Couple married 73 years say final ‘I love you’ before dying of coronavirus
A Wisconsin couple married for more than 70 years has died of coronavirus just hours apart.
In a beautiful act of kindness, hospital staff made sure they were side-by-side in their final hours and say a final “I love you” before dying just hours apart from coronavirus, according to their family.
Wilford Kepler, 94, and wife, Mary, 92, had spent their final days in adjoining beds at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa before they both succumbed on April 18, according to their obituary.
“They were able to say, ‘I love you,’” granddaughter Natalie Lameka told WTMJ.
“They had been holding hands and that was just heartbreaking to hear but also heartwarming to hear. And we were just so thankful they were together and were aware they were together,” she added.
The two were like the family’s “glue that holds us together,” their granddaughter said, and while losing them hurts, knowing they never had to part makes the pain a little easier.
“It was definitely hard,” she told the news station. “But it was bittersweet.”
Mary Kepler died six hours after her husband, the affiliate reported.