If you have ever questioned the existence of true love, the story of Isabell Whitney and Preble Staver will make all your doubts fade away.
The two first met before the WWII took place and were separated until it came to an end. During those years, Preble was serving in the Marines and the love of his life joined as a nurse in the Navy.
This loving couple was married more than 70 years and stood by each other’s side for better and for worse and ended their life dying on the same day, embracing each other and holding hands.
The sweethearts got hitched in 1946 and raised five children together.
One of their children, Laurie Staver Clinton, told PEOPLE, “They were great people. Mom really taught me that you can’t change another person but you can change your attitude towards them. Dad was a bit of a prickly pear!”
As time passed by and they got old, they were placed at a care facility as Isabell started suffering from dementia which was getting worse over time. Unfortunately, that resulted in having to keep the lovebirds in a separate rooms.
62-year-old Laurie said how his mother was forgetful and didn’t recognize many people who were part of her life, but she never forgot Preble. “Sometimes we’d have to tell her to focus and look but when she looked and knew it was dad, she’d get that little smile”
On Preble’s 93rd birthday, he only had one wish, and that was to be allowed to spend some time with his wife of seventy years. The facility staff were glad to grant him the wish and the two laid next to each other for more than 3 hours.
“There was not a single word spoken between the two of them. They held hands and just fell asleep. I told dad, ‘This is mom’s birthday present for you.’ He was just so happy that he got to take his nap with her,” Laurie said.
On October 25, Laurie got the devastating news of her mother’s passing. She rushed to the hospital to say the final goodbye with Preble by her side.
“He held her hand, and it was just so tender. I asked him if he wanted to stay after the prayers, and he shook his head. I said, ‘Okay, but you know that means you’re going to have to let go of her hand?’ I was crying, and he was crying,” Laurie recalled.
Preble died hours after his loving wife. It’s unusual how the two left the world on the same day. It was as though they were destined to live together, and die together.
Their marriage was one of those that not everyone gets to experience. The old-school union in which a couple lives by the real values of honest love, respect, and never letting go.
“Mom and dad really lived out that, if you make a commitment, and even though life gets rough or life gets in the way, you work through life, and you live your life together.”
The below video is of a 92-year-old Veteran who sings to his wife. The relationships like that of Isabell and Preble, and the one below, are a reminder that true love still exists.