A British couple, married for 68 years, died within 72 hours of each other after never spending a single day apart.
The couple, former beauty queen Brenda and Terrance Studd, said it was love at first sight when they met as 15-year-old teens all the way back in 1953. They married at the young age of 16 and spent nearly seven decades together.
The pair never went a day without seeing each other, and only spent a few nights apart when Terrance fell off a bucking horse at the fair and had to stay in hospital.
The childhood sweethearts from Loughborough, Leicestershire, died within three days of each other, both aged 83.
Great-grandmother Brenda passed away on Sept. 27 last year after contracting COVID-19. Terrance never spoke again after hearing of his wife’s death; he passed away fighting with pancreatic cancer three days later, on Sept. 30.
Daughter Julie Mccluney, 60, said: “Dad just gave up after mum died. They couldn’t live without each other.
“They were just childhood sweethearts that loved each other very, very much.
“They were never, never separate—only if they had to go to hospital.
“Dad had to be in hospital for three months to save his leg after falling off a bucking bronco at the fair when I was about 17. That’s the longest they were ever apart.
“They were just happy and contented to love the simple things in life, like each other, dancing, eating out, opera and bingo.”
Brenda told her family she fell in love with Terrance when she saw him playing in a band at school and “all the girls were after him.”
She followed him to the shops a few days later, hoping to catch his eye, and it worked.
Care assistant Julie, a mom of six, also from Loughborough, said: “Mum was beautiful. She had been in loads of beauty contests. They were so in love.”
Terrance went part time as a mechanic to support Brenda when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) after collapsing on a family camping trip to the Isle of Wight around 1970.
Despite her failing health, Brenda worked part time as a dinner lady, in a shoe factory, and as a cleaner.
Terrance modified their car and caravan to carry Brenda’s wheelchair, and they moved into a specially designed bungalow when the children left home around 1980.
Terrance was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer in June 2020. Then in September, Brenda was rushed to hospital with sepsis and tested positive for COVID-19.
Brenda died in hospital and three days later Terrance died at home.
Julie said: “When we told dad she had died he just held my brother Graham’s hand and cried. He never spoke again after that. Then they sent my mum’s handprint and dad died as I was holding it and sobbing.”
The couple, who had three kids, had a joint funeral on Nov. 5 last year, and their ashes were mixed together, and are due to be scattered in Skegness, where they loved to go on holiday.
“I’m over the moon that they are together,” said Julie.
“They were 83, met at 15, married at 16, and they brought each other the happiest life.
“They were a very lovely loving couple who gave us a fantastic life.”
