When Helen Felumlee passed away at the age of 92 last Saturday, her husband Kenneth Felumlee quickly followed her into the great beyond just 15½ hours later, after 70 years of marriage and eight kids. According to the couple’s children, the two couldn’t stand to be apart from one another, and they knew their father wouldn’t survive for much longer without his constant companion.
Goddammit. It’s like the first 15 minutes of Up all over again. From the Zanesville Times Reporter:
When Kenneth’s health started to fail, Helen began sleeping on the couch to be near him. The two hadn’t slept apart in 70 years, the family said. Years ago, when the two took an overnight ferry equipped with bunk-beds, they chose to both sleep on the bottom bunk rather than be separated for even a night.
The two grew with every day, their children said, and remained deeply in love until the very end. Even in their last days, Helen and Kenneth would eat breakfast together while holding hands.
About 12 hours after Helen died, Kenneth looked at his children and said, “Mom’s dead.” He quickly began to fade, and was surrounded by 24 of his closest family members and friends when he died Sunday morning.
“It was a wonderful going away party,” Cody said. “He was ready. He just didn’t want to leave her here by herself.”
If you’re not at least somewhat choked up at this point, you’re probably some kind of monster. The only way this story could be any sadder is if the couple had a dog and the dog also died after the husband because it couldn’t bear to be apart from its owners. I don’t believe in god or religion or anything — but I still hope Helen and Kenneth Felumlee are out there somewhere, still holding hands on a cloud or something.
(Via Jezebel)