Couple married for 51 years dies six minutes apart from the coronavirus

The 74-year-old Stuart and 72-year-old Adrian had celebrated 51 years of marriage together before their death.

“Until it touches you or touches somebody you know or you hear a story, you kind of feel removed from it,” Buddy said about his parents. “Hopefully, my parents’ passing doesn’t go in vain.”

Buddy said his parents first felt symptoms of the coronavirus in mid-March but were initially not too concerned about it. “This is pre-the world shutting down, pre-the NCAA tournament getting canceled, so you’re still not thinking this is going to be something which is life-threatening,” he said.

Stuart was admitted to the hospital for his fever on March 19. The family was hopeful for recovery as his father remained optimistic and showed some signs of improvement. On March 24, Stuart tested positive for the coronavirus, and his family learned he would likely not survive.

The family then decided to take Adrian to the hospital despite her lack of fever. Minutes later, Buddy said the doctor told her she had low oxygen levels and would not survive either.

With both his parents dying, Buddy and his family determined to make sure his mother and father were together in hospice care for their final moments together. They died next to each other and minutes apart.

“They were as compatible and inseparable as two human beings have ever been married and existed on earth,” Buddy said.

He added he hopes people will “hear our story and it motivates them to do the right thing.”

“By doing that, maybe it won’t affect them, or it won’t affect their family, but maybe they help another family not endure the pain and agony that me and my sister and our kids and the rest of our family are enduring right now,” Buddy said.

So far, nearly 300,000 people have contracted the coronavirus in the United States, and more than 7,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.