Couple married for 69 years die minutes apart holding hands

For Isaac Vatkin, 91, and his wife, Teresa Vatkin, 89, even death would not do them part, as Isaac followed minutes after his wife gave up the ghost last weekend. After 69 years of marriage, Teresa died at 12:10 a.m. on Saturday after years of suffering from Alzheimer's disease, while Isaac died minutes later, with their hands intertwined.

They were both in Highland Park Hospital in Skokie, Illinois, where Isaac sat by Teresa and watched her die, but when their entwined fingers were separated at 12:50 a.m., it was noticed that Isaac had passed away too.

Isaac and Teresa met in their native Argentina, and eventually, they married and moved to Skokie. Together they raised their three children; Clara, Daniel and Leonardo.

During a joint funeral held Monday for the couple, their daughter, Clara Gesklin said her parents’ "love for each other was so strong they simply could not live without each other."

The couple’s son, Leonardo Vatkin, said his father "never wanted to do anything apart" from his wife.

Their grandson William Vatkin said: "You didn’t want to see them go, but you couldn’t ask for anything more."