Albert Lea Couple Pass Away Just Two Day Apart
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- For 67 years of marriage, Myron and Betty Young were inseparable.
He was a farmer and she was a probation officer -- with a sense of humor.
"At their 60th wedding anniversary, somebody said, 'Wow, 60 years you've been married to the same man.' She says, 'I know! That's a long time to wash the same guy's Fruit of the Looms,'" their daughter Wanda Gwinn said.
But comic wit wasn't the only thing that made this marriage great.
"If Dad was really adamant and wanted to take something forward, she would be right there to support him. Otherwise he always went with mom," son Brian Young said.
On Dec. 22, Myron was taken to the Austin Hospital with the flu. Two days later, Betty -- who had been diagnosed with ALS -- was sent to St. Mary's in Rochester.
She was released, but Myron's condition worsened.
"It was a non-responsive state. Whether it was a coma or what, I don't know," Wanda said.
But a couple days later, to the surprise of nearly everyone, Myron woke up.
He was sent to a nursing home, where Betty was waiting for him.
"It was hard for her to talk, but you could see her say the words with all she had – 'I love you Myron.' He said, 'I love you, too.' And they held hands a little bit. It was like our own little mini-miracle," Wanda said.
It was like that for a couple days. Then on the afternoon of Jan. 11, Myron peacefully passed away.
And because they couldn't stand to be apart in life, Betty followed her husband two days later.
"We said it was like they ganged up on us and decided to sync together, you know," Wanda said. "It all happened the way it should have happened."
Myron and Betty's funerals were held together, at the same church where they were married.
Their kids think their time at different hospitals in December was the longest they'd ever been apart.