Couple Married 67 Years Die Two Hours Apart: Hugh And Joan Nees Die Together In Nursing Home
A couple married 67 years died two hours apart.
Hugh Nees, 94, and his wife Joan, 92, from New Zealand, were together for more than six decades, and vowed to love each other in sickness and in health. They had told their family members that they couldn’t bear to be without each other, so when one passed away on Tuesday night, the other followed merely two hours later.
They were both living at the same nursing home at Eldon Lodge in Paraparaumu, where they had been since they moved from their home in Waikanae nearly three months ago.
According to Robert Nees, the couple’s son, “[his parents] were strong Christians and therefore they knew where they were going, and they had no problem about going there.”
Hugh, a retired Baptist minister suffering from cancer, passed away first, and then Joan died of a stroke shortly after, the Canada Journal reports. When Robert was asked if he thought there was any premonition to their deaths, he responded: “It’s so hard to know – it almost seems like it, doesn’t it?”
After 67 years togeter, Hugh and Joan Nees died within hours of each other http://t.co/398XZiaNnv pic.twitter.com/3gEGKFAooD
— Dominion Post (@DomPost) June 25, 2015
“We think it was a miracle, really, it was just what they wanted,” Joy Reid, the couple’s daughter, said on Thursday, according to NZ Stuff. “They said they wanted to die together, and I didn’t expect it to really happen,” Reid said. “It was just perfect for them.”
MailOnline: RT DailyMailAU: Couple who were married for 67 years died just two hours apart http://t.co/v30uaY2SjO pic.twitter.com/EgMBcQ8Nhp
— Ragam Info News (@ragaminfonews) June 25, 2015
“Their departure, it’s sad but happy – life wasn’t easy for the last little while and that’s over, that’s all good,” Robert said.
The couple is survived by three of their five children, 14 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.
“They always followed the activities of their children and grandchildren with great interest,” Reid said. “Not only did they share a common purpose, they had a strong personal love for each other, a close relationship.”
A service to remember the couple, married 67 years, will be held on Tuesday, June 30, at 11 a.m. at Waikanae Baptist Church. The family have asked for donations in lieu of flowers to be made to the Bible Society of New Zealand.
[Photo via Shutterstock]
