Monday, 4 August 2014

The husband and wife who died as they lived, inseperably: Couple of 62 years finish their life together by dying just four hours apart and still holding hands


Don and Maxine Simpson, of Bakersfield, California, both fell gravely in the last two weeks

  • Don took a fall and broke his hip while Maxine was battling cancer
  • Family moved them from hospital to a relative's house so they could be together
  • Maxine died first
  • As she was being wheeled out the room, Don passed away

Not many can lay claim to fulfilling their vow of 'till death do us part'.
But for one California couple, who had been married an incredible 62 years, that's precisely what happened.
The family of Don and Maxine Simpson say they were two people brought together by fate and left each other in the same, dying just four hours apart .
'I knew in my heart this is what's supposed to happen - Grandma and grandpa are supposed to be together and grandma and grandpa are going to die together,' granddaughter Melissa Sloan told KERO News.
Till death do us part: Don and Maxine Simpson, of Bakersfield, California, passed away within four hours of each
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Till death do us part: Don and Maxine Simpson, of Bakersfield, California, passed away within four hours of each
Together forever: The couple, married over 60 years, were moved from hospital into a hospice created at their family's home
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Together forever: The couple, married over 60 years, were moved from hospital into a hospice created at their family's home
Love: Don and Maxine Simpson met at a bowling alley and traveled the world together
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Love: Don and Maxine Simpson met at a bowling alley and traveled the world together
The family of Don and Maxine said they knew the two would have wanted to be together at the end, and so moved them into a family home in beds side-by-side
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The family of Don and Maxine said they knew the two would have wanted to be together at the end, and so moved them into a family home in beds side-by-side
The couple have been inseparable since they first met at a bowling alley in Bakersfield, California
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The couple have been inseparable since they first met at a bowling alley in Bakersfield, California
Two weeks ago, Don was at home when he fell, breaking his hip.
He was taken to hospital, but his health continued to decline.
At the same time, the cancer his wife had been fighting for hers started to progress as well.
'I told my sister on the phone, we got one shot to get them together,' Sloan said.
The family that, despite the situation, Don and Maxine would demand to be together, so they were both moved to a spare room in the family's home.
'We kept them together, and had their beds side-by-side,' Sloan said.
'Gram woke up and saw him, and held hands and they knew that they were next to each other.'
It wasn't long after that, holding her husband's hand, Maxine took her last breath.
'I walked them out with her body, walked back in to check on grandpa and he quit breathing as soon as her body left the room,' Sloan told KERO News.
Ailing: Maxine had been battling cancer for some time, while Don took a fall two weeks ago that broke his hip
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Ailing: Maxine had been battling cancer for some time, while Don took a fall two weeks ago that broke his hip
Happy: The pair had spent a long, happy life together and their two sons
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Happy: The pair had spent a long, happy life together and their two sons
It?s a love story that may remind you of a Hollywood movie, but it's real, and it?s the life of a Bakersfield man and woman whose love for each other was on display until the day they died. ?It?s absolutely beautiful, and the story is beautiful,? said Melissa Sloan of Bakersfield. It?s a love story about as real as they come. ?All Don wanted was to be with his beautiful wife. He adored my grandmother, loved her to the end of the Earth,? she said. But to know how this love story ends, you have to go to the beginning when fate brought Don and Maxine Simpson together. Don was born in North Dakota and studied Civil Engineering, a career path that would eventually land him in Bakersfield and closer to the future love of his life, Maxine. The couple met in a bowling alley, and married a few years later.It?s a love story that may remind you of a Hollywood movie, but it's real, and it?s the life of a Bakersfield man and woman whose love for each other was on display until the day they died. ?It?s absolutely beautiful, and the story is beautiful,? said Melissa Sloan of Bakersfield. It?s a love story about as real as they come. ?All Don wanted was to be with his beautiful wife. He adored my grandmother, loved her to the end of the Earth,? she said. But to know how this love story ends, you have to go to the beginning when fate brought Don and Maxine Simpson together. Don was born in North Dakota and studied Civil Engineering, a career path that would eventually land him in Bakersfield and closer to the future love of his life, Maxine. The couple met in a bowling alley, and married a few years later.
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Smitten: Maxine and Don tied the knot a few years after they first met
It?s a love story that may remind you of a Hollywood movie, but it's real, and it?s the life of a Bakersfield man and woman whose love for each other was on display until the day they died. ?It?s absolutely beautiful, and the story is beautiful,? said Melissa Sloan of Bakersfield. It?s a love story about as real as they come. ?All Don wanted was to be with his beautiful wife. He adored my grandmother, loved her to the end of the Earth,? she said. But to know how this love story ends, you have to go to the beginning when fate brought Don and Maxine Simpson together. Don was born in North Dakota and studied Civil Engineering, a career path that would eventually land him in Bakersfield and closer to the future love of his life, Maxine. The couple met in a bowling alley, and married a few years later.It?s a love story that may remind you of a Hollywood movie, but it's real, and it?s the life of a Bakersfield man and woman whose love for each other was on display until the day they died. ?It?s absolutely beautiful, and the story is beautiful,? said Melissa Sloan of Bakersfield. It?s a love story about as real as they come. ?All Don wanted was to be with his beautiful wife. He adored my grandmother, loved her to the end of the Earth,? she said. But to know how this love story ends, you have to go to the beginning when fate brought Don and Maxine Simpson together. Don was born in North Dakota and studied Civil Engineering, a career path that would eventually land him in Bakersfield and closer to the future love of his life, Maxine. The couple met in a bowling alley, and married a few years later.
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They spent over six decades together and had two sons, who they adopted
'He left with her, and they passed four hours apart from each other.'
'It's just amazing. It really is amazing.  It's a true love story.'
 

More...

Don, a civil engineer in North Dakota, was stationed in Bakersfield, where he met Maxine at a bowling alley.
The two traveled the world together and adopted two songs along the way.
Settled: The pair met in Bakersfield and decide to raise their family there as well
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Settled: The pair met in Bakersfield and decide to raise their family there as well


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