Soulmate couple happily married for 68 years die just a day apart
A husband and wife enjoyed 68 years of wedded bliss together – then died in the same hospital just 33 hours apart.
Bob Johnson, 88, fell ill with cancer six months ago, and was admitted to hospital.
His wife Corrine, 87, was admitted to hospital with congestive heart failure shortly after, with Corrine dying first last week.
Just days before her death, the mother of seven, from St Peter in Minnesota, kissed Bob and whispered: ‘I love you.’
The couples’ daughter Beth Johnson told KARE11: ‘When mom passed, they pulled the curtain between the two beds, he just stared at the curtain.’
Their son Bruce Johnson, a cancer doctor, added: ‘I sort of thought he looked like he could go for weeks.
‘As soon as mom died he went downhill and died in a day.
Soulmate couple happily married for 68 years die just a day apart‘It’s hard to imagine it’s a coincidence.’
Bob and Corrine raised their family on a dairy farm in Nicolette County, and lived there independently until falling ill earlier this year.
The couple grew up close to the area, and were so contented at home they rarely ventured far.
Their children say Bob was famed as a gentleman who would always wait and let others go first – and are convinced he did the same with his wife’s death.
Son Brent Johnson said: ‘It was only fitting that in the end he waited for mother to go first and then he passed away..
‘They went on their terms.’
Another daughter, Lora Dennis, says that while distraught at losing both parents in such quick succession, the Johnsons’ children are comforted that neither had to live long without the other.
Lora said: ‘Their plan was to not have us worry about that… I think we all know that they’re in a better place.