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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 Toczko told KGTV.
"Their hearts beat as one from as long as I can remember," Aimee Toczko-Cushman said.
"They wanted to go in their own beds, holding hands and in each other's arms," Richard Toczko said.
The Toczkos told Newsy's partners at KGTV that their mother's one wish was to make it to her 75th wedding anniversary, which was June 29. The family decided to celebrate early after hospice brought a bed to their home for Alexander.
"My mother was thrilled, thrilled to death, because it was their anniversary and she knew that he was going and that they had made it to 75 years," Aimee Toczko-Cushman said.
According to their obituary, Alexander died shortly afterward on June 17. His wife, Jeanette, followed the next day.
There’s actually a medical condition that may explain why the pair died so close together.
The American Heart Association says a condition known as broken heart syndrome "can be caused by an emotionally stressful event" 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," Aimee Toczko-Cushman said of her father.
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