Together in life and in death.
A North Carolina couple, married for 48 years, died minutes apart from each other due to COVID.
On September 2, Johnny Lee Peoples, 67, and his wife, Cathy Darlene Peoples, 65, died after a month-long battle with the novel virus, according to their joint obituary.
When the end was near, WBTV reports that they were moved into the same room at Novant Health Rowan Regional Medical Center to be with each other in their final moments.
“Everything just went south, everything just got worse,” their son, Shane Peoples, said.
“The next day they put them in the same room, same ICU room, they put their hands together, the nurses gathered around and they passed within four minutes of each other,” he added.
“They were married 48 years, been together 50, they walked hand in hand for those 50 years," Shane told People.
He said the family never expected that they wouldn’t make it but added that they “walked into Heaven holding hands.”
The couple was laid to rest in a joint funeral on Wednesday, which was held outside and followed social distancing protocols.
Shane said his mother was the first to get sick just days before officially retiring.
The first symptoms his parents began to develop were “fever and loss of taste.”
“My dad started showing symptoms two days later,” he explained. Things progressed quickly and “about two weeks later they were both put in the ICU.”
The publication notes Shane was left to grapple with the loss of two parents at once. He penned a tribute to them on Facebook writing, “My parents weren’t just a blessing for me, my brother, my sister, our spouses, and our children. They were a blessing to every person that met them. My mom had the most beautiful soul of anyone you could have met.”
Shane’s hope is that his parent’s death isn’t in vain. He urged the public to take the virus seriously and take appropriate safety measures like washing hands and wearing face masks.
“It’s not a joke. It’s not a hoax,” Shane said. “I just don’t [want] anyone else to get hurt. I don’t [want] anyone to feel the grief that we’re feeling.”
LISTEN NOW on the RADIO.COM App
Follow RADIO.COM
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
