Elderly Couple Married 77 Years Were Buried In Shared Casket Holding Hands After Passing 2 Days Apart

Mar 12, 2023 by apost team

When most couples get married, part of their vows involves promising to stay together until “death do us part.” In one heartwarming case, one elderly couple stayed together long after death. Raymond Breuer and Velma Breuer had been married for 77 years. In his final request, Raymond had one special favor that he wanted to ask from his loved ones. He had spent a lifetime with his soulmate, and he wanted to spend eternity with her as well.

Velma and Raymond had raised a beautiful family in the Dawson Township of Missouri. After marrying at a young age, they spent 77 years together. They had six children and dozens of grandchildren. By the time Raymond died, only three of their children were still living.

According to the Herald, the last few months of Raymond's life saw his health deteriorate. Even through his pain and suffering, he still did everything he could to make his wife smile. He asked the nurses to bring in flowers for her, and he tried to write out sweet love notes. In the last hours of his life, he had a heartwarming idea that he shared with a nurse nearby.

Raymond must have known that he had only a few hours left to live. He had lived 97 years on earth, and he spent nearly 80% of his life with his wife. And when it was time for him to die, he held his wife's hand close to his heart. He could barely grip her hand, so she supported his fingers between the palms of her frail hands.

When a nurse entered the room, Raymond was just saying his final goodbyes to his dear wife. He told the nurse that he wanted to be buried in a casket with his wife so that they could spend forever together.

Upon hearing this, Velma started to cry silently. She could not imagine living without her sweet husband at her side. As the nurse looked on, she promised her husband that she would spend her life and her death with him.

A few hours later, Raymond took his last breath. Velma held him close as he whispered his final, “I love you,” and died. That night, she returned home and prayed for her husband. She knew that he was watching over her. Feeling a deep sense of peace, she went to bed and fell asleep. Less than 30 hours after her husband passed on, Velma joined him in death. According to the Columbia Missourian, Raymond passed on Aug. 4, 2017, and Velma passed on Aug. 6, 2017.

Remembering Raymond's final request, the nurse told the couple's children about the shared casket idea. Son Bobby Breuer told the Columbia Daily Tribune:

“Dad told one of the nurses before he passed, that if they went close together, that they should just be buried together, in the same casket. Jokingly, I think. But other people heard it and we asked the funeral director. Mother was a very small woman, and Dad wasn’t that big.”

Within a week, a joint funeral was held for the couple. They were laid to rest, holding hands in the same casket together.

apost.com

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