A couple from Idaho, in the US, who were married for 63 years, died this week within minutes of one another - as they always said they would.
Edna Huntley, 81, died a week ago in her home in Nampa, Canyon County. She'd been suffering from cancer after being diagnosed earlier this year. Husband Bob, two years her senior, died while holding her hand just under an hour later.
Speaking to the Idaho Press-Tribune, Kenneth Huntley, the couple's son, said that Edna had told a friend a few days before her death: "When one of us dies, (we're) going to wrap the hand of the other and take them along with us."
Huntley explained how his father died less than an hour after his wife. "We're very grateful it happened this way," he said, telling the outlet that his father would not have wanted to continue on without his wife of 63 years.
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According to the Idaho paper, Bob Huntley had been suffering from dementia for a long time.
Son Kenneth added this his father had been a millwright in Washington and Oregon states, while Edna had been a homemaker. The couple moved to Nampa two years ago to be closer to one of their daughters.
The two leave behind five children, 20 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.
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Edna and Bob's story has echoes of The Notebook featuring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling. Spanning several decades, the film follows an elderly man in a nursing home reading to a fellow patient.
As the film progresses, it is revealed that the man is reading the notebook to his wife, who suffers from dementia, as he tries to help her remember the life they shared together. The film ends with the two dying in each others arms, in a manner not dissimilar to Edna and Bob Huntley.
The couple's grandson told the Idaho Press-Tribune that their story was an inspiration to everyone they knew.
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"We saw what love really is," Ammon Tunnell told the paper.
The couple had moved to Idaho to be closer to one of their daughters and were fortunate enough to be able to spend their last Thanksgiving and Christmas with their sons Kenneth and Ron.
"Mom made so many Christmas candies," Kenneth told the paper. "At the time we thought she should rest, but in retrospect, I think it's good she got to make those Christmas candies, since it was her last Christmas."
Featured Image Credit: Legacy.com
Topics: Love, Interesting, Relationships, Feels