"They were literally the glue that held my family together," granddaughter Haley Burton said.
A couple who have been married for around 56 years died together while holding hands when tornadoes tore through the Bowling Green area last week, according to New York Post. There were about a dozen tornadoes that tore through Kentucky on December 10, 2021, and one of them tore their hose apart, which was situated on the outskirts of Bremen.
Billy, 73, was a veteran who worked as a laborer for a while before running the family farm. Judy, 72, was a homemaker. The couple renewed their vows a few years ago, re-creating their wedding. “There was no other love like theirs,” their 25-year-old granddaughter Haley Burton said, according to Washington Post.
Granddaughter Serenity Miller told WTHR that their love story started during the Vietnam War. “He went off to Vietnam, they got married, but it wasn't the wedding she wanted,” she explained.
After 56 years of marriage, Billy and Judy Miller died like they lived: holding onto each other. The Millers were found side by side at their property on the outskirts of Bremen on Saturday morning.
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After Billy returned, the two grew as a family, with kids and grandkids, but on their 50th wedding anniversary, Judy finally got the wedding she'd always wanted. "They went and she got the wedding that she wanted with all of us grandchildren. That there was everything to them," said Serenity.
Meanwhile, Burton recalls talking to her grandmother about 8:30 pm on the day the tornado struck. “We’re fine,” she remembers Judy. “The wind’s blowing a little bit.” She promised to call the next day so Burton would know they were safe. But that call never came, as later in the night, Burton’s sister messaged that the couple was not answering their phone. Soon after, a cousin called, saying the family farm down the road from the Millers was hit. “All the barns are gone,” she said.
"They had passed away together, holding on to each other," said Serenity. "Their love was so deep for each other, we knew they wouldn't be able to survive without each other," she added.
For Haley, her grandparents were her rock after her mother died after going into a diabetic coma. She was just 16 at the time. “They were literally the glue that held my family together.” Billy and Judy lost another child as well, and Haley recalls how painful it was for her grandmother to bury two of her children.
“I know they’re all together again,” she said, her voice wavering. “And that helps me.”
Serenity then shared that the two had a really unique bond, one that couldn't be dimmed at all. "They grew really deep bonds after the loss of two of their children and that bond - I don't think anyone could break [it]."
References:
https://nypost.com/2021/12/17/elderly-kentucky-couple-found-holding-hands-after-dying-in-tornado/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/12/13/tornadoes-photos-couple-bremen/
https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/kentucky-tornado-couples-dies-together-storm-muhlenberg-county/
Cover Image Source: YouTube | WHAS11 (Couple married for 50 years dies together in Kentucky tornado)
