A devoted couple who were married for 76 years died within three days of each other, after spending their final days together in the same care home room. Miles and Phyllis Higgin, who met as teenagers at a dance in 1933, passed away in December 2015 at the ages of 99 and 97 respectively.
The couple's daughter, Angela Hartley, 66, said: 'It is so hard to lose them both together, but at the same time it is nice to know they have never been apart. They have lived long and happy lives and they lived it together.' Mrs Higgin died on December 17, and her husband passed away three days later.
The romance began when they met at a dance in 1933, and they married six years later. They were separated during the Second World War, when Mr Higgin served as a cook for the Royal Artillery, but exchanged love letters until they were reunited in 1945. From then on, they were inseparable, working together as landlords of two pubs and spending retirement walking hand-in-hand.
When both developed dementia, they shared a double room at their care home in Burnley, Lancashire. Mrs Hartley said: 'They would sit together holding hands all day long and my dad would be constantly telling staff that he loved her.' She added that her father seemed to 'hold on' so as not to leave his wife alone, and that it was 'heart-breaking' to tell him of her death.
The couple, who had two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, were laid to rest after a joint funeral on Christmas Eve. Mrs Hartley described the ceremony as 'beautiful', with vintage hearses and cars.
