Jan 21, 2020

Elderly Couple Die Together Holding Hands In Nursing Home

An elderly couple in the US had their nursing home beds pushed together in the final moments of their lives allowing them to hold hands as they both passed away within hours of each other on the same day.

Jack and Harriet Morrison were married for over 60 years and shared a relationship that could only be described as a fairytale.

The couple first met in 1955 as a young Harriet accompanied her father on a bus trip with his marching band, and at that time, she would have been unaware that her future husband was actually driving the bus.

They had their first date at a diner on Halloween of the same year, and from that point on they were completely inseparable.

Jack and Harriet spent their middle years running a bus company together and raising a family that consisted of their two sons and a beloved niece.

They were also active members of an organisation called the Moolah Shriners that are devoted to improving the lives of other people around the globe.

Jack and Harriet were also lucky enough to travel the world together and visited a number of different continents including Europe and Australia.

In the latter stages of their lives, Harriet developed dementia and had a nasty fall while out walking the dog that resulted in a broken pelvis and hip.

Harriet was then moved into The Woodlands of Arnold nursing home in St Louis.

Sadly, Jack was having trouble at home in his wife’s absence and was convinced to move into the same nursing after having a bad fall that broke his neck.

According to an interview with the couple’s niece, Jack’s room was only four doors from his beloved wife and the pair would nap side-by-side, one in a wheelchair and one in the bed with hands intertwined.

“Some days she knew him; other days she didn’t,” said the couple’s niece Sue Wagener.

After receiving the news that his wife had stopped eating on Christmas Eve, Jack also began to reject food and liquids.

Just over two weeks later, 83-year-old Harriet was moved into the same room as her beloved 86-year-old husband Jack where the couple held hands for one final time before taking that big step into the afterlife – together, as man and wife.

 

Istock Image: credit – PeopleImages

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Video: Isolation in a time of pandemic and what we can do about it

Dr Belinda Cash, Social Gerontologist at Charles Sturt University talks to Donna Kennett about how isolation during the pandemic has impacted older adults and the practical things aged care homes, carers and families can do to make things better. Read More

Disability support work: offering time for you and the people you care for

For Izzy, who’s in her 20s, the desire to make an impact in people's lives has always been a motivating force. Still, after working in a fast-paced hospital environment, she realised she needed a career that was better suited to her need for flexibility, balance, and grounded connections with the people she supported. Read More

Age is Just a Number

Get Bold Not Old is part of an ongoing campaign by Feros Care to show that age is just a number, and that the elderly members of the community are larger than life. In October, there as a call for the public to enter photos into the photo competition to celebrate our senior citizens. And... Read More
Advertisement
Exit mobile version