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Florida couple Miriam and Bill Caswell, 87 and 83 respectively, died within 90 minutes of each other last March after 57 years of marriage. About a week later, devoted Pam Clayden, 77, and husband Eddie, 78, died within hours of each other in Kesgrave, Suffolk, after 54 years of marri­age. MX News (Brisbane), 6 Mar; Sun, 17 Mar 2008.

A couple in Idleb, northwest Syria, died on the same day after living together for more than 70 years. The husband, who was 95, died just hours after his 90-year-old wife had passed away. They left 66 grandchildren and great grandchildren. [RIA Novosti] 15 Jan 2008.

Pat Fisher, 77, was diagnosed with cancer and was taken to hospital in Melbourne, where she died unexpectedly. Hospital staff rang her husband Arthur on 14 May 2007 and left a message for him to contact them. When he failed to return their call, they got the local police to investigate. They discovered that Arthur, 78, had died of a heart attack at about the same time as his wife. He had a kidney complaint, but it wasn’t considered life-threatening. The couple had been inseparable throughout 55 years of marriage. “We really believe that they literally couldn’t live without each other,” said daughter Lynette Court. Melbourne Herald Sun, 18 May 2007.

Kent and Diana Kraft of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, died together on 9 February 2008, side by side, of separate illnesses. Mrs Kraft had Lou Gehrig’s Disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and her husband had a heart condition. They had both been born on 2 September 1941 and had been married for about 43 years. Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 13 Feb 2008.

Joan Standen, 84, from Paulsgrove, Hampshire, was rushed to Southampton General Hospital with a chest infection and soon fell into a coma with pneumonia. Four days later, her husband Reg, 87, was taken to hospital with a similar condition. Joan died later that day at 2pm and Reg five hours later – even though his family had not told him about his wife’s death because they thought him too weak. The couple were buried together on 1 February – their 66th wedding anniversary. “They were devoted to each other all those years, only ever separated by war or sickness,” said their daughter, Melody Robbins. The News (Portsmouth), 22 Jan; Sun, 23 Jan 2007.

Dr Marvin Herzog and his wife, Dr Bernice ‘Toots’ Herzog, worked together as optometrists in Whitehall, Pennsylvania, for 45 years; they had been married for over 50 years. On 4 January 2007, upon learning that his wife’s cancer was terminal, Dr Herzog had a fatal heart attack, an hour before his wife died. He was 89; she was 87. Their son Jeffrey explained that his mother’s nickname, ‘Toots’, had been given her as a child by her uncles, known as the Three Stooges. “My father idolised my mother,” he said. “They spent every hour of every day with each other. He could not live without her. When he found out her illness was terminal, he just folded his cards.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 5 Jan 2007.

Brian Eckersley, 72, a retired insurance clerk from Radcliffe, near Bury, had adored his wife Betty, a factory worker, since he met her at a Manchester dance hall. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on 22 June 2007, but decided on a holiday in Majorca with their daughter and two grandchildren as a way of prolonging the festivities. Just before they were due to travel home, Mrs Eckersley suffered a brain hæmorrhage. In hospital, she was placed on a life support machine. Her husband suffered a fatal heart attack the next morning as he kept vigil by his wife’s bedside. Hours later, the life-support machine aiding his wife’s breathing was turned off. “In all the days they were married, my parents had not spent a day apart,” said their daughter, Carol Cutler. “They died on the same day, which was also my father’s birthday. He simply could not live without her.” Times, Sun, 21 July 2007.