A Couple Married for 71 Years Both Die on the Same Day
By Saige Miller on July 18, 2019
AUGUSTA, Georgia– Nothing says ’til death do us part’ like taking your final breath the same day as your spouse. A husband and wife married for 71 years gained national attention when they died within 12 hours of one another on the same day, according to WRDW-TV.
Herbert DeLaigle died at 2:20 AM on June 12th. Exactly 12 hours later, at 2:20 PM, his wife Frances DeLaigle joined Herbert in paradise.
Their love story was first reported by local Georiga station WRDW-TV last year when the Delaigle’s celebrated their 70th anniversary. They first laid eyes on each other at a local cafe. Frances was 16 and Herbert 22 and it’s been twitterpated love ever since.
“Frances worked at a little cafe we had in Waynesboro named White Way Cafe,” Herbert said in a 2018 interview. “I kept seeing her going in and out, in and out and I had my eyes set on her. And then I finally got up the nerve to ask her if she would go out with me sometime.”
Their first date was to the movies. A year later Herbert asked for Frances’s hand in marriage, according to WRDW-TV. The lesson here is even after 71 years, taking your date to the movies will never go out of style–it might even land you a spouse.
“I asked her will she have me as her husband and she said, of course,” Herbert said. Words so simple, yet tender enough to tug at your heartstrings.
According to the online obituaries, Frances spent six years in Germany with Herbert while he was in the Army during WWII.
Frances was an avid lover of flowers and animals. She owned and operated Marilyn’s Nursery near Waynesboro from 1979 to 1984. Her husband was right by her side during those years.
The Georgia couple is survived by six children, 16 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren, according to the online obituary.
In 2018, WRDW-TV asked the happy couple the secret to a successful marriage.
“Show your love,” Herbert told the station. “And be there for each other,” Frances said.
Perhaps the advice the DeLaigle’s gave is something we should and implement into every relationship, romantic or not.
