A husband and wife who were married for more than four decades died from Covid 10 seconds apart while holding hands.
William Stewart, 73, and wife Carol, 69, who were both unvaccinated, had been hospitalised after eight members of their family tested positive for Covid .
The couple, from New Hampshire in the US were on life support for eight days, and two weeks, respectively, during which Mr Stewart suffered from lung, kidney and renal failures due to Covid complications.
Their devastated family were initially only allowed to see them remotely using iPads but were allowed to gather around their beds, dressed head-to-toe in protective gear, as they both took their last breaths.
Melissa Noke, one of the couple’s daughters, told the Boston Globe that her parents were inseparable and the true definition of 'soul mates'.
She explained how the hospital staff wheeled her parents' bed into the same room so they could die together.
“Placed both beds side by side, placing my mother’s hand into my father’s hand,” she told WMUR.
“As soon as they touched hands, my father took his last breath, and then my mother 10 seconds later.”
Mrs Noke said her parents first met when Mr Stewart's mum babysat for Carol who was just four at the time.
They lost contact but reconnected as adults, and within a year fell in love and got married before going on to have three daughters Melissa, Malissa and Melinda.
They have also left behind seven grandchildren.
Mrs Noke said is planning to get the Covid jab and is urging others to so the same so they don’t have to endure the pain her parents went through in their final days.
She said: “I just want people to get vaccinated, because you never know what tomorrow is going to bring.
"We want to spread the story as much as possible about their love story, and what happened to them."
Before the couple died on December 30 a crowdfundraiser was launched by their nephew Tim Stewart to pay for their medical bills as they did not have health insurance.
He said in a post announcing their deaths, he wrote: "They fought a long and hard battle with Covid, both intubated and on life support.
"We never really have enough time with our loved ones."
