Family Holds Funeral for Couple Who Died Hours Apart on Their 71st Anniversary: 'A Life Full of Love'

After spending their life together, Otho and Grace McEntire died 16 hours apart

Otho and Grace McEntire. Photo: Family Photo

After spending decades together, an Oklahoma couple died 16 hours apart.

Otho McEntire, who died on April 26, was able to spend his last moments with his beloved wife of over 70 years, according to his obituary. Hours later, on April 27, his wife Grace McEntire followed "him into rest," the post said.

As their health worsened last month, the couple — who both suffered from complications due to Alzheimer's — found themselves in separate facilities, family members told CBS affiliate KWTV-DT. After Otho "took a really bad turn," their family feared a reunion might not be possible.

"Mom had constantly been asking for dad, for days and days and days, and I said, 'Mom he can't make it, he's going to go to heaven before you, but he'll be waiting for you,'" daughter LaReva Mandeville told the outlet.

Fortunately, Otho, 89, was able to be transported to the same hospice as his wife, 84 — and that same evening, he died around 10 p.m., according to KWTV-DT.

When his wife died 16 hours later, the couple's song was playing on one of their daughter's phones.

"That was daddy telling us girls, I got her," Mandeville told the outlet.

Grace and Otho McEntire. Family Photo

The couple tied the knot in 1951 when they were both teenagers, according to their obituaries.

"They shared a life full of love and were 'honeymooners' for their whole marriage," his obituary stated.

"Otho began working in the oilfield after marriage and would continue there until retirement," the obituary continued. "Anyone who knew him knew he loved to visit, there was never a quick conversation no matter the topic. He was a genuinely fun person who loved to joke and laugh."

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Grace, who helped run a family-owned grocery store and later worked at Walmart, was remembered as being able to make "every event special from holidays to birthdays."

"She was a mother to many, never hesitating to love others as her own. Grace cared for many relatives that began to need help late in their lives," read her obituary. "She also cooked for many years at the Agra Senior Citizen's Center."

In a fitting nod to the couple's life-lasting love, their funeral was held on May 3 — their 71st wedding anniversary.

"We have so many pictures of them looking at each other and you could just see the love that they had for each other," daughter Tawanna Chapman told KWTV-DT.