Couple die within an hour

Teresa and Isaac Vatkin, a few years ago.

An Illinois couple married for 69 years have died within an hour of each other. Isaac Vatkin, 91, was holding the hand of his wife Teresa, 89, as she succumbed to Alzheimer's disease two Saturdays ago. Isaac died 40 minutes later. Family members said they took comfort in knowing they were together at the end. "You didn't want to see them go," said grandson William Vatkin, "but you couldn't ask for anything more."

Teresa and Isaac on their wedding day.

“Their love for each other was so strong, they simply could not live without each other," said daughter Clara Gesklin at the couple's joint funeral. "They were always in love, literally to the end. To the last second." Staff at the local Highland Park Hospital found Mr and Mrs Vatkin unresponsive and breathing shallowly on Saturday and chose to place their beds side by side. Family members positioned their hands so they touched. The couple raised three children in Skokie, Illinois, and had a close relationship with their grandchildren. Mr Vatkin had been a kosher meat distributor and Mrs Vatkin a homemaker and manicurist.