A couple who held hands at breakfast every morning even after 70 years of marriage have died 15 hours apart.
Helen Felumlee, of Nashport, died at 92 on April 12. Her husband, 91-year-old Kenneth Felumlee, died the next morning.
The couple's eight children say the two had been inseparable since meeting as teenagers, once sharing the bottom of a bunk bed on a ferry rather than sleeping one night apart.
They remained deeply in love until the very end, even eating breakfast together while holding hands, said their daughter, Linda Cody.
"We knew when one went, the other was going to go," she said.
According to Cody, about 12 hours after Helen died, Kenneth looked at his children and said, "Mom's dead." He quickly began to fade and was surrounded by 24 of his closest family members and friends when he died the next morning.
"He was ready," Cody said. "He just didn't want to leave her here by herself."
Son Dick Felumlee said his parents died of old age, surrounded by family.
"At Dad's bed we were singing his favorite hymns, reading scriptures and praying with him," he told The Associated Press in an email. "It was a going away party, and we know he loved it."
The pair had known each other for several years when they eloped in Newport, Ky., across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, on Feb. 20, 1944. At two days shy of his 21st birthday, Kenneth — who went by Kenny — was too young to marry in Ohio.
"He couldn't wait," son Jim Felumlee said.
Kenneth worked as a railroad car inspector and mechanic before becoming a mail carrier for the Nashport Post Office. He was active in his Nashport-Irville United Methodist Church as a Sunday school teacher.
Helen stayed at home, not only cooking and cleaning for her own family but also for other families in need in the area. She taught Sunday school, too, but was known more for her greeting card ministry, sending cards for birthdays, sympathy and the holidays to everyone in her community, each with a personal note inside.
"She kept Hallmark in business," daughter-in-law Debbie Felumlee joked.
When Kenneth retired in 1983 and the children began to leave the house, the Felumlees began to explore their love of travel, visiting almost all 50 states by bus.
"He didn't want to fly anywhere because you couldn't see anything as you were going," Jim Felumlee said.
Although both experienced declining health in recent years, Cody said, each tried to stay strong for the other.
"That's what kept them going," she said.
据美联社报道，有一对在结婚70年后仍然每天早餐时手拉手的老夫妇，在15小时内相继去世。92岁高龄的海伦·费伦李于4月12日逝世，其91岁的丈夫肯尼斯·费伦李也于第二日早上去世。
这对夫妇的8个孩子说，夫妻二人自少年时期就没有分开过，曾经在渡轮上的双层床的底部一起度过了数个晚上。
女儿琳达·科迪说，“他们一直非常恩爱，甚至每天早餐时还拉着手。我们知道一旦一方去世，另一方会随之而去的”。
根据琳达·科迪的介绍，在海伦去世12个小时后，肯尼思看着他的孩子们说，“妈妈走了”。随着开始快速衰颓，在24名亲属的围绕下，于次日清晨去世。
科迪说，“他已经准备好了，他只是不想让她单独离去”。
他们的儿子迪克·费伦李说，他的父母死于年高。临终之时有家人陪伴。他在一封给美联社的邮件中写道：“就是是去赴一场派对，我们知道那是他愿意去做的事情”。
在这对夫妇相识几年后，他们于1944年2月20日从辛辛那提跨过俄亥俄河来到肯塔基州的纽波特。在肯尼思21岁生日过后的第3天，他们结婚了，此时的肯尼思尚未达到俄亥俄州的法定结婚年龄。“但是他等不及了”，他的儿子杰姆·费伦李说道。
在成为纳什波特邮局的邮递员之前，肯尼思一直有轨电车的巡视员和机修工。他也是纳什波特联合卫理公会教堂主日学校的老师。海伦则一直在家，除了给自家做家务外，还给本地区有需要的家庭提供服务。她也在主日学校里当老师，但是多数人熟悉她是因为她的贺卡。她会给社区中的每个人送生日卡片、慰问卡和假日卡，并在卡里附有本人便笺。媳妇黛比·费伦李开玩笑说，“她一直为贺曼公司工作”。
1983年肯尼思退休了，这时孩子们开始逐渐离开家庭。费伦李夫妇开始了自己的旅游生活，他们乘坐公交车几乎游遍了美国的50个州。儿子杰姆说道，“去任何地方他也不愿意乘飞机，因为你不能看到沿途的景致。”
琳达·科迪说，近年来他们的健康状况日趋不佳，但是还一直在努力维持着。这也是他们离世的原因。
