A California couple, married 67
years, died hours apart while holding hands this month, their daughter said on
Thursday.
Floyd Hartwig, 90, and wife Violet,
89, died on Feb. 11 in their home in Easton, California, outside Fresno, their
family said.
The couple had known each other
since they were children and married in 1947 while Floyd was on leave from the
Navy, going on to settle in a ranch in Easton.
"They enjoyed working side by
side their entire lives," said daughter Donna Scharton. "They were very
loving. Very hard-working. Not into materialistic things."
Each had battled illnesses in recent
years. Violet had dementia and had suffered strokes. Floyd, who survived
bladder and colon cancer, had been diagnosed with kidney failure, family said.
Floyd and Violet had been given
hospice care in the last weeks of their lives, and with the end near, family
members pushed their beds together, Scharton said.
Floyd Hartwig and wife Violet are
shown in this undated Hartwig family photo released to Reuters Feb …
Floyd died first, holding Violet's
hand. She passed away five hours later, she said.
"They were very devoted to each
other and had a lot of respect for each other," Scharton said of their
long marriage.
The couple had three children, four
grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, family said.
Violet, known as "Vi,"
would wake up at 4 a.m. through much of her life to tend to her family and the
ranch, "sewing, cooking, gardening, and volunteering for the PTA,"
according to her daughter and her obituary.
Floyd spent six years in the Navy and
served in World War Two, his obituary said.
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