The high school sweethearts died next to one another after living a full life with each other.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on December 20, 2019. It has since been updated.
While we do come across some soul-touching love stories often, it is not every day that we hear about a couple who leave the mortal world together to rest in their heavenly abode of love, and it is not every day that we come across a couple that could not be torn apart by even death. Ever since Les and Freda Austin met in high school and exchanged vows in 1949, they were inseparable.
Les was an Air Force veteran who served 40 years with Michigan State Police while Freda was the manager of Brail Dry Cleaning, reports the Mail and an excellent homemaker too, states their obituary. They were married for 70 long years and "lived a full life." On December 6, the couple entered hospice care and on the next day, Les drew his last breath and shortly after that, 20 minutes to be precise, Freda passed away. It was as if she did not want to be in the world without her husband of 70 years.
"They did everything together. They didn't stop with death," daughter Sandy Maes said to Mlive. "I think they knew each other was passing and they are eternally together. And I think it was beautiful."
Les was the first to pass away. Though Freda wasn’t conscious, family members said her eyebrows sunk down. As life left their bodies, their heads fell in the direction of each other. "If they had to go, this way was about as romantic as you could get," son Michael Austin said. Les and Freda had two children, four grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Their family members describe them as role models.
"Together Les and Freda enjoyed traveling and camping throughout Michigan and focused their travels on lighthouse locations and the Upper Peninsula," the obituary reads. While they deeply loved each other, they had arguments like any other married couple, but they worked through the struggles.
One such instance was when Les signed up for the Korean War without talking to his wife first. "I know she was upset about that," their granddaughter Leah Smith told MLive.com. "Seventy years together sure isn't easy … but at the end of those 70 years together, they still cared so deeply for each other and loved each other so, so very much," she said.
May their loving souls rest in peace.
References:
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/les-austin-obituary?pid=194689576
