True love, it is believed, never fades away.
We all dream of experiencing such love and meeting our true love.
Some people spend their whole lives hunting for their other half, while others are fortunate to discover that person immediately.
For Floyd and Violet Hartwig, it was so.
After being married in 1947, they remained companionable for approximately 67 years. Although it is incredible, their last moments truly express their unbreakable relationship.
After reading about their tale, which made headlines in 2018, I was more persuaded than ever that true love exists and that there is someone with whom we should spend our time on earth.
Floyd and Violet Hartwig began a relationship that would last their whole lives when they first met in elementary school. Floyd served in the US Navy during World War II. The pair exchanged a large number of letters throughout that time.
A sample from one of the letters, dated May 1947, is shown below.
Just a few words from this lone blue sailor of yours, honey. I Miss you, sweetheart, and I am in awe of you. I will be so happy when I get out of this, honey. Even though I once thought the Navy was incredible, it’s not for me. Before I started dating the sweetest girl in the world, that is.
Floyd went back home following the end of World War II, and the couple acquired a farm in California. Three kids were eventually born to them together.
Several years ago, Violet sadly got dementia. Floyd provided care for her in the couple’s residence, but the situation deteriorated when Floyd was diagnosed with a renal illness. Their children and grandkids were astonished, but Floyd and Violet’s relationship deepened. After more than 67 years of marriage, they finally fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Floyd, aged 90, passed away in the hospital with Violet, aged 89, clutching his hand. Within an hour after his death, Violet also departed the planet.
Their children, grandkids, and great-grandchildren encircled them. The family they left behind was understandably grieved by the sudden loss of both Floyd and Violet, but they could find solace in the fact that this was what Floyd and Violet desired. They had informed their children that they wanted to pass away at home together.
“They had a unique bond, one I believe only became stronger as time passed. In a video homage to the couple’s love story, daughter Donna Scharton said, “Especially during the latter months of their life.”
When the family realized the couple was on the verge of passing away, according to their daughter Donna Scharton, they softly joined their hands and moved their two hospice beds together. Violet went after Floyd after waiting five hours. They passed away on February 11 at home in Central California per their wishes.
Scharton claims that Floyd, a distinguished Navy sailor, was home on shore leave when her parents’ relationship began in a dance venue. Three children, four grandkids, and ten great-grandchildren were born to them later.
People would often make remarks about Scharton’s parents, according to Scharton.
According to Cynthia Letson, when her grandpa died, the family informed her grandma that she might follow him.
For your Knowledge
Even if it can seem like it occurs often, the media is probably just picking and choosing which stories to highlight. The news item “Elderly couple dies hours apart” is of human interest. We only hear about the former because “millions of individuals outlive their spouse by more than a decade” is invalid. This isn’t to say that those who outlast their spouses or partners by a negligible margin didn’t love them; it’s simply that the circumstances are different.
But it turns out that some research supports the phenomenon. Broken heart syndrome is a condition that is said to happen after someone loses a close friend or spouse. One of the most traumatic events that may occur to a person is the death of their spouse. But many overlook that stress has a physical component in addition to mental suffering and sadness (both quite crippling and should not be discounted). Numerous physical conditions can be brought on by stress. If the stress is sudden and severe enough—for example, if a spouse passes away—these conditions can be severe and affect the heart.
But even without direct heart damage, extreme grief’s physical and psychological effects can be highly damaging to the body. The stories we hear are always about couples who have been together for a long time, so this may be another explanation. The fact that they have been together for so long is consistently cited as proof of their devotion, but it also means that both are older. The shock of losing a long-term partner may be more than the body can handle because it is much more frail and rundown in old age than in youth.
Given that the surviving partner is more physically resilient, this may also help to explain why you rarely hear about it happening to younger couples when one partner passes away. The phrase “young couple die together” is simply tragic, whereas “elderly couple die together” is viewed as sweet and comforting.
