A moving love story: they married 71 years old and died the same day

When Marilyn Francis Kilpatrick and Herbert Delaigle promised to be together until death separated them, they thought so. The couple, from Georgia, had a long marriage of 71 years. His love story moved the world when it happened this Friday both died just 12 hours apart.

According to detailed local media, they met in adolescence in 1947. She was then 16 years old and worked in a cafeteria belonging to her family, then 22 years old.

Last year, at the age of 70, Herbert remembered that when he was small, he would not stop looking at her and that he would leave his time all the time. house to meet her. "Until I finally had the guts to ask him if he would leave with me at some point," he said.

On their first date, the couple went to see a movie. A year later, they got engaged. After arranging the wedding in great detail, Herbert arrived an hour late in the church and the pastor almost canceled the ceremony. Finally, he agreed to marry them after his insistence.

Despite this anecdote that almost ruins their story of perfect love, lovers form a big family: They had six children, 16 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great-grandchildren.

After spending a few years in Germany for Herbert's military career, the couple returned to the United States, where he became the leader of a group of scouts and she was pbadionate about gardening.

Last Friday, at age 94, Herbert died at 2 am The same afternoon, at age 88, his wife Marilyn died. Dr. Matthew Lober, a psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, explained that this type of case is known like the "broken heart syndrome".

"It is when we receive shocking news and that results in a mbadive release of stress hormones in the blood," said the specialist. As a result of this, he is abruptly weakened and may have an effect similar to that of a heart attack.