Otho and Grace McEntire.Photo: Family Photo
After spending decades together, an Oklahoma couple died 16 hours apart.
Otho McEntire, who died on April 26, was able to spend his last moments with his beloved wife of over 70 years, according to hisobituary. Hours later, on April 27, his wife Grace McEntire followed “him into rest,” the post said.
“Mom had constantly been asking for dad, for days and days and days, and I said, ‘Mom he can’t make it, he’s going to go to heaven before you, but he’ll be waiting for you,'” daughter LaReva Mandeville told the outlet.
When his wife died 16 hours later, the couple’s song was playing on one of their daughter’s phones.
“That was daddy telling us girls, I got her,” Mandeville told the outlet.
Grace and Otho McEntire.Family Photo
The couple tied the knot in 1951 when they were both teenagers, according to their obituaries.
“They shared a life full of love and were ‘honeymooners’ for their whole marriage,” his obituary stated.
“Otho began working in the oilfield after marriage and would continue there until retirement,” the obituary continued. “Anyone who knew him knew he loved to visit, there was never a quick conversation no matter the topic. He was a genuinely fun person who loved to joke and laugh.”
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Grace, who helped run a family-owned grocery store and later worked at Walmart, was remembered as being able to make “every event special from holidays to birthdays.”
“She was a mother to many, never hesitating to love others as her own. Grace cared for many relatives that began to need help late in their lives,” read her obituary. “She also cooked for many years at the Agra Senior Citizen’s Center.”
In a fitting nod to the couple’s life-lasting love, their funeral was held on May 3 — their 71st wedding anniversary.
source: people.com
