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A couple from California who were married for almost 75 years died within a day of one another.
"They fell in love. They were boyfriend and girlfriend when they were 8 years old," son Richard ToczkoĀ told KGTV.
"Their hearts beat as one from as long as I can remember,"Ā Aimee Toczko-Cushman said.
"They wanted to go in their own beds, holding hands and in each other's arms,"Ā Richard Toczko said.
The Toczkos told Newsy's partners at KGTVĀ that their mother's one wish was to make it to her 75th wedding anniversary, which wasĀ June 29. The family decided toĀ celebrate earlyĀ after hospice brought a bed to their home for Alexander.
"My mother was thrilled, thrilledĀ to death, because it was their anniversary and she knew that he was going and that they had made it to 75 years,"Ā Aimee Toczko-Cushman said.
AccordingĀ to their obituary, Alexander died shortly afterward on June 17. His wife, Jeanette, followed the next day.
Thereās actually a medical condition that may explain why the pair died so close together.
TheĀ American Heart AssociationĀ says a condition known as broken heart syndromeĀ "can be caused by an emotionally stressful event"Ā like the death of a loved one. Its symptoms are similar to those of a heart attack.
"He died in her arms, which is exactly what he wanted,"Ā Aimee Toczko-Cushman said of her father.
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