Floyd and Violet Hartwig’s love story is incredible. The two died hours apart on February 11, 2015; Floyd, 90, died first, and then his wife, 89, followed 5 hours later.

They first met in elementary school, but it wasn’t until they came face-to-face again on the dance floor during World War II that their romantic connection began. They exchanged over 100 love letters between 1946 and 1948, and they married in August of 1947, when Roy came back on leave. A darling excerpt of one love letter reads:

“Hi honey, just a few lines from this lonely blue sailor of yours. Miss you darling and so in love with you. … Honey, I’ll sure be glad when I get out of this. It sure isn’t for me, though at one time I thought the Navy was pretty swell. That was before I fell in love with the sweetest girl in the world.”

Violet had been battling dementia for the last few years of her life, and Floyd was her caretaker. But then in January of 2015, Floyd was diagnosed with kidney failure and was given two weeks to live. This stunned the family, who thought Floyd seemed quite healthy. Just a week prior, they had been discussing whether or not to put Violet on hospice care. Within a couple days, they put them both on hospice care. They died with their beds pushed together, at home, like they both wished. And they were holding hands when they died.

The couple had three children together, and their daughter Donna opens up about their love story in this video, which also features pictures and letters from their life together.
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