Couple dies 33 hours apart after being married for 68 years
A husband and wife who had been married for 68 years have passed away within hours of each other.
Minneapolis couple Robert and Corinne Johnson were laid to rest together after dying 33 hours apart, KARE11 reported.
Corinne died on November 24 at the age of 87 from congestive heart failure. Her husband Robert, 85, followed soon on November 25 after months of battle with cancer.
The couple’s youngest son Brent Johnson said his parents passed “on their own terms”.
He said his father was known for his chivalrous acts, including letting others ahead through doors or buffet lines. “So it was only fitting that in the end he waited for mother to go first and then he passed away,” he told KARE11.
Brent said it was not a coincidence that his father’s death came shortly after his mother’s. “When I asked him what his wishes were if mom passed away, he said he couldn’t imagine life without her. And in the end, he was right,” Brent told CNN.
The pair’s other son Bruce Johnson, who works as a doctor that specialises in cancer, said he thought his father had more time.
“I sort of thought he looked like he could go for weeks,” Bruce said. “As soon as mom died, he went downhill and died in a day. It’s hard to imagine it’s a coincidence.”
Robert and Corinne’s relationship began when they grew up beside each other on a farm in Nicollet County, according to their obituaries.
The pair tied the knot in October 1951 and raised seven children together. They also shared 14 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
The secret to the couple’s long-lasting marriage was strong faith and commitment, Brent said.
“Dad would say, if mom isn’t happy, no one’s happy,” he said. “He understood what it took to make a marriage work.”