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Real Love does exist after all.

After 72 years of marriage, Norma and Gordon Yeager died within one hour of each other — and were buried in a single coffin

Married 72 years, Norma, 90, and Gordon Yeager, 94, died in the hospital holding hands last week, one hour apart.

Gordon Yeager, 94, and his wife Norma, 90, left their small town of State Center, Iowa, on Wednesday to go into town, but never made it. A car accident sent the couple to the emergency room and intensive care unit with broken bones and other injuries. But, even in the hospital, their concerns were each other.

They were given a shared room in the ICU where they held hands in adjacent beds. At 3:38 pm last Wednesday, Gordon’s breathing stopped. Though he was no longer alive, his heart monitor continued to register a beat.

The nurse told Gordon and Norma’s son, Dennis Yeager, that the monitor was beeping “because they’re holding hands, and [Norma's heart beat] is going through them,” Dennis recalled in an interview with Des Moines’ KCCI news station. “Her heart was beating through him.”

Norma died at 4:38 pm, exactly one hour later.

Gordon and Norma’s children say they’re glad the couple passed this way. “They just loved being together,” says Dennis. “He always said, ‘I can’t go until she does because I gotta stay here for her.’ And she would say the same thing

Here, a brief guide to their incredible story:

Who was this extraordinary couple?
Ninety-year-old Norma and 94-year-old Gordon Yeager met while Norma was still in high school and Gordon was working at the Chevrolet Garage in State Center, Iowa. They were married on May 26, 1939, the day Norma graduated. They had four children together, one daughter and three sons. Tragically, their two middle children were killed in car accidents. “They believed in marriage,” says their son, Dennis. “They chose each other and once they had committed, that was it.”

How did they die?
Last Wednesday, as the couple was driving into town, Gordon mistakenly pulled out in front of another car. The Yeagers were rushed to the hospital following the collision and given a shared room in intensive care. Though they were “not really responsive,” they held hands as they lay there, side-by-side. At 3:38 p.m, Gordon passed away, but, then, his family noticed his heart monitor was still beeping. “It was really strange,” Dennis says. Then a nurse looked and saw that the couple’s hands were still clasped. “Her heart was beating through him and [the monitor was] picking it up,” Dennis says. At 4:48 p.m., one hour after her husband, Norma passed away as well. “Neither one of them would’ve wanted to be without each other,” says their daughter, Donna Sheets. “We were very blessed, honestly, that they went this way.”

How will they be buried?
At their funeral on Tuesday, Norma and Gordon shared a casket and held hands. Once cremated, their ashes will be mixed together. They aresurvived by their two children, Norma’s sister, Virginia Keil, Gordon’s brother, Roger, 14 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild. “We don’t hear love stories like Norma and Gordon’s anymore,” says Lindsay Mannering at The Stir. “We hear about lying, cheating, and divorce. Hopefully there are couples all over the world who share a similar story because I’d like to live in a world where this is the norm and not the exception.”

Beautiful Story. I hope I find love like this someday.

Source: The Week