至死不渝！夫妻结婚70载 15小时先后离世

An Ohio couple who held hands at breakfast every morning even after 70 years of marriage have died 15 hours apart.

美国俄亥俄州的一对夫妻在结婚70年后依然手牵手用早餐，日前夫妻俩相继离世，中间只相隔15小时。

Helen Felumlee of Nashport in central Ohio died April 12. She was 92. Her husband, 91-year-old Kenneth Felumlee, died the next morning.

Helen Felumlee来自俄亥俄州中部城市纳什波特，4月12日，92岁高龄的她离开了人世；Helen的丈夫Kenneth Felumlee今年91岁，在妻子去世第二天早上也随她而去。

The couple's children say the two met as teenagers and had been inseparable since then, once sharing the bottom of a bunk bed on a ferry rather than sleeping one night apart.

儿女们说，父母是在青少年时期就认识，自那以后就从未分开。有回他们坐渡轮，两人宁可一起挤在双层床的下铺，也不愿分开睡。

Relatives told the Zanesville Times Recorder that after a few years of dating the young couple snuck off to a court house in Kentucky to elope with $5 in their pocket, enough to pay the $2 marriage fee.

亲戚们告诉《赞斯维尔时代录音机》，在约会几年后，两个年轻人就私奔去了肯塔基州的一家法院，口袋里只带了5美元，刚够付2美元的结婚手续费。

The pair were married on Feb. 20, 1944, two days shy of Kenneth's 21st birthday meaning he was too young to marry in Ohio.

1944年2月20日，这对情侣结婚了，此时离Kenneth的21岁生日还差2天，也就是说Kenneth还没到俄亥俄州的法定结婚年龄。

"He just couldn't wait," the couple's son Jim Felumlee said.

“父亲当时等不下去了。”儿子Jim Felumlee说。

Reportedly afraid to break the news to their parents, the couple spent the first weeks of their marriage living separately until Kenneth spoke up.

据报道，夫妻两人起先不敢把结婚的事告诉父母，前几周只能分开住，直到Kenneth将此事公开。

The two went on to have eight children with Kenneth working for a railroad company and as a mechanic before becoming a mail carrier. He was also an active member in their church, and willing to lend a hand whenever it was needed.

他们后来一共生下8个孩子。Kenneth在铁路公司做技工，之后又成为了邮递员。他还是当地教堂的积极分子，有需要帮忙时总会伸出援手。

"There would be hours he wasn't here, and she had all these kids, but she understood that it was a need in him to help other people," Linda Cody, one of the couple's daughters told the Zanesville Times Recorder.

“父亲有时几个小时不在家，母亲要一个人照料所有孩子，但是她非常理解‘帮助别人’是父亲的内心需求。”女儿Linda Cody告诉《赞斯维尔时代录音机》。

Cody said the two were deeply in love to the end. When their children grew up and had families of their own, they began traveling the country, visiting nearly all 50 states by bus.

Cody表示父亲和母亲非常恩爱，至死不渝。当孩子们都慢慢长大、组建起自己的家庭后，夫妻两人开始坐车周游美国，足迹几乎遍及所有50个州。

When Helen became confined to a hospital bed, Kenneth took it hard, Cody told the paper.

Cody告诉我们，当Helen只能躺在医院病床上时，Kenneth非常伤心。

"He would just reach out and grab her hand, but he would keep his head down because he couldn't stand to see her hurting," Cody said.

她说：“他会去抓住她的手，但他总是低着头，因为他不忍心看到妻子受病痛折磨。”

Cody said her father began to fade about 12 hours after her mother died and told them that he didn't want to leave her by herself.

Cody表示，在母亲离世大约12个小时后，父亲的身体也开始变得虚弱。他告诉孩子们，不愿让妻子一个人孤苦伶仃。

"We knew when one went, the other was going to go," Cody told the newspaper. "We wanted them to go together and they did," she said.

“我们明白，他们中若有一人离开，另外一个也会随之而去，”Cody这样说道，“我们也希望他们能够结伴去往天堂，而他们真的这样做了。”