Married 67 Years, Die Two Hours Apart: Hugh & Joan Nee Die Side By Side After Lifetime Of Love

A couple married 67 years die two hours apart according to reports out of New Zealand. According to the Huffington Post, Joan Nees, 92, and Hugh Nees, 94, died in the same nursing home, laying side-by-side. The two were said to be in “declining health” as Hugh was battling cancer, and Joan had suffered a stroke just a couple of weeks before she passed away.

It was a Tuesday. Joan and Hugh were surrounded by loved ones when they both let go. Hugh passed away first around 10 a.m. Shortly after, Joan died.

“We think it was a miracle, really, it was just what they wanted. They said they wanted to die together, and I didn’t expect it to really happen. It was just perfect for them. Not only did they share a common purpose, they had a strong personal love for each other, a close relationship,” their daughter Joy Reid said.

The couple married 67 years that died two hours apart spent the past six decades together. After meeting in the 1940s, the two were rarely apart. They raised a family together (they had five children, but two passed away), and were there for each other through all of the ups and downs that life brought their way. The couple is survived by three children, 14 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.

According to NewsMax, Hugh and Joan both worked in the church (he was a Baptist minister, while she worked in the church doing unknown jobs). They were described as “strong Christians” by their son.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, this sort of thing happens more than you might think. Every couple of months there seems to be a love story of this nature, where two people married for several years die around the same time. In December, 2014. Robert and Louise Bain died just after Christmas in the same hospital. Reported a little before that, Italvino and his wife, Diva Possa, died side-by-side in the same hospital just 40 minutes apart after being married for 65 years.

The family of the couple married 67 years that died two hours apart has mixed emotions over their parents deaths, but are finding some comfort in knowing that the two died together.

“Their departure, it’s sad but happy. Life wasn’t easy for the last little while and that’s over, [so] that’s all good,” said the couple’s son, Robert Nees.

A memorial service for Hugh and Joan will be held at the Waikanae Baptist Church on June 30.

[Photo via NewsOXY]