Jeanette Toczko, 96, and her 95-year-old husband, Alexander Toczko,
from San Diego, California, died just hours apart as they held hands in
bed.The pair spent their lives in love after becoming boyfriend and girlfriend when they were only eight years old.
But
several weeks ago, Mr Toczko suffered a broken hip in a fall and was
left bed-bound. A local hospice delivered a special bed to his home,
which staff pushed up next to his beloved wife's bed.
As
Mr Toczko's condition quickly declined, Mrs Toczko's own health took a
turn for the worse. The couple had always said they wished to die 'in
their own bed, holding hands, in each other's arms'.
"She
kept asking us, 'What is today, what is today?' We said it was June.
She said it's June 29th, and June 29th is their 75th wedding
anniversary," said Toczko-Cushman.
The family went along with it, buying balloons and flowers to celebrate, in bed.
"And
we said happy anniversary, and my mother was thrilled to death because
it was their anniversary and she knew that he was going and that they
had made it to 75 years," said Toczko-Cushman.
The
couple's daughter, Aimee Toczko-Cushman, described the moment she told
her mother she had lost her husband, who kept a photo of Mrs Toczko at
her Holy Communion in his wallet.
'I
told my mother he was gone,'. 'She hugged him and she said, "See this
is what you wanted. You died in my arms and I love you. I love you, wait
for me, I'll be there soon".
The family left, leaving the couple to share their final moments together.
"Even
the hospice nurse said it was the most incredible thing to see the two
of them taking those last breaths together," Toczko-Cushman said.
"I knew she wasn't go to last too much longer," Toczko said
"And
he died in her arms, which is exactly what he wanted. I went in there
and told my mother he was gone; she hugged him and she said, 'See this
is what you wanted. You died in my arms and I love you. I love you, wait
for me, I'll be there soon,'" said Toczko-Cushman. "It was tough," said
Toczko.
The
couple who were married for 75 years have fulfilled their final wish to
die in each other's arms after they passed away clutching hands, within
hours of each other, in their bed.
About 24 hours later, it became time for Jeanette to join her husband.
"They both entered the pearly gates holding hands," said Toczko.
The Toczkos have since been buried.
Alexander Toczko was a World War II veteran
Chapisha Maoni