Elderly couple married for 63 years die minutes apart

An elderly couple who were married for over 60 years died less than half an hour apart in the same room, and held hands with each other through their final minutes.

On 31 July Henry and Jeanette De Lange both died at a nursing home in Platte, South Dakota, after sharing 63 years of marriage and raising five children together.

Mrs De Lange, 87, died first after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for over five years, having moved into the home in 2011.

Meanwhile Mr De Lange, 86, a veteran of the Korean war, had developed prostate cancer and requested to be moved into the same home to be near his wife.

The couple died 20 minutes apart, with Mr De Lange continuing to hold onto his wife’s hand until the end and briefly opening his eyes to look at his partner of over six decades.

The couple’s son Lee De Lange said the family saw the event as “a beautiful act of God’s providential love and mercy.

“You don’t pray for it because it seems mean but you couldn’t ask for anything more beautiful,” he continued. “Dad visited mom once a day, twice, or maybe three times a day. It was very sweet.”