72 years together: The couple who died holding hands

After 72 years of marriage, Norma and Gordon Yeager died within one hour of each other — and were buried in a single coffin

Here’s a love story for the ages — or the movies. Iowa couple Norma and Gordon Yeager were both in their 90s and had been married 72 years when they were hospitalized following a car accident. The nurses and doctor kept the two together in the intensive care unit, and they lay there, barely responsive but holding hands. Gordon passed away, and, exactly one hour later, Norma followed him, still holding his hand. “They just loved being together,” says their son Dennis. “He always said, ‘I can’t go until she does because I gotta stay here for her.’ And she would say the same thing.” Here, their incredible story: The Week.