The couple, Wilford and Marry, married some 70 years after a romantic relationship, died within hours of each other earlier this month.
According to a US journal, Wilford and Marry Kepler had tied the knot in 1946.
On April 12, Wilford was admitted to the hospital due to an injury he sustained after falling on the floor. He was then taken to Wisconsin Froedtert hospital, where he was diagnosed with the COVID-19. Her wife, Marry Kepler, had already contracted the infection and had been quarantined at home.
Six days after being shifted to the hospital, the couple left the world together, with just six-hour apart.
According to Milwaukee Country Examiner’s Office, only Marry died from the coronavirus at the age of 92. Although Wilford had tested positive for the coronavirus, he died from the traumatic head injury. He was 94.
The couple is survived by three children, eight grandchildren, and six grand grandchildren.
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The couple’s granddaughter, Natalie Lameka, said that she met her grandparents on April 17. “I was with them for one hour or so. They knew what’s coming to them, and they were at peace with it.”
She further said, “our grandparents did for us that most of the elderly people like to do for their children and the family.”
Wilford and Marry
Both Wilford and Mary graduated from Richland Center High School during the 1940s, with a few years gap.
In 1943, just before his graduation, Wilford was enrolled in the military for World War II. He served on the USS Wilkes-Barre, which was involved in the Okinawa battle.
While he was still fighting the war, Mary was encouraged by one of her good friends to write to Wilford. It became the prelude to their lifelong relationship.
They married one year after the war ended. Before settling permanently in Wisconson, they had been living in several regions.
For 35 years, Wilford worked as a machinist, while Marry became the first woman vice president of US Steel Supply.
The couple also involved in community services as Wilford volunteered for the Milwaukee hospital for more than decades. Marry, too, volunteered in “Milwaukee Country Commission on Aging.”
After the death of the couple, it was announced that there would be no services at this time.
The announcement read, “At the Froedtert hospital, their beds were next to each other, and both were holding their hands during their last days.”
Marry had said just moments before her death that “the angels are looking after her.”
