A couple who had been together for almost 65 years died the same day in a nursing home in the area of St. Louis, Missouri.
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Jack and Harriet Morrison’s beds were placed side by side in their last hours, which allowed them to hold hands and be together until the last moment, local newspaper reported St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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Jack, 86, died first. Harriett, who was 83 years old, died hours later the same day, on January 11.
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“I’m sad. But I know they are at peace and are back together,” said Sue Wagener, a niece raised by the Morrisons. “It really was a love story for books.”
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The couple had their first date on Halloween in 1955. “They went to a small restaurant and never separated since that day,” Wagener said. They got married about six months later.
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They met when Harriett accompanied his father on a trip with the musical group he played. Jack was at the wheel of a charter bus that was leading the group to some of their concerts.
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Together, the couple raised their niece to Wagener and their two children.
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Jack and Harriet were active with Moolah Shriners, a fraternity dedicated to philanthropy, and they traveled the world together.
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“You didn’t see Jack without Harriet,” said Wayne Price, a fellow Shriners.
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About a year ago, Harriet tripped while walking her dog and broke her pelvis and hip, the niece counted. She had dementia and was admitted to the nursing home and rehabilitation center The Woodlands of Arnold.
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Meanwhile, Jack was having trouble living at home. Wagener said she convinced him to move to a villa in Woodlands in May. In September, he also fell and broke his neck. He finally moved to the same nursing home, four doors from his wife’s hallway.
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Even then, they slept together, one in a wheelchair and the other in bed, with their hands clasped.
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“Some days she knew him; other days no, “said Wagener.
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On Christmas Eve, Wagener told Jack that Harriet had stopped eating and drinking. He barely ate or drank after that.
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Around 11 pm on January 10, the niece received a call from a nurse saying that Harriet appeared to be close to death. The nurse asked if the staff could remove the furniture from Jack’s room so they could be together.
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