In case you’re one of those date oblivious folks, February 14 ^th , aka Valentine’s Day, is upon us—as in right on top of us if you’ve waited until Thursday to read this.  Or long since gone if you waited much beyond that.  So, in honor of that special day, I’d like to tell you the story of Gordon and Norma Yeager.

Gordon and Norma were high school sweethearts who probably set the record for the fastest engagement and wedding in history; Norma graduated from high school at 10:00 AM on May 26, 1939, Gordon immediately asked for her hand in marriage, and by 10:00 that evening, they were husband and wife.  For 72 years thereafter they did everything together . . . they raised their family, they traveled, they worked, they played . . . they were never apart.  Never.  It simply wasn’t something either of them needed or wanted.

All of that ended on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 when Gordon and Norma set out in their car for a trip to town.  They never reached their destination; an accident sent both of them to the emergency room and, eventually, to intensive care with broken bones and internal injuries.  It soon became apparent that recovery was not an option, and the hospital staff, knowing they couldn’t separate them, moved Gordon and Norma to a room where they could be together, their beds pushed close enough that they could hold hands.  And so they did, until Gordon died at 3:38 that afternoon.  His family had watched as his breathing slowed and then ceased, but they were confused.  Despite his obvious departure, the heart monitor to which he was attached was still beating.  When they asked the nurses how that was possible, they offered a simple explanation.  The monitor was picking up Norma’s heart beat through Gordon’s hand.  Her heart was beating through him.

Exactly one hour later, at 4:38 PM, Norma Yeager joined her husband.  Only then did his monitor fall silent.

The Yeagers’ children said it was a fitting end to their lives.  Gordon had never wanted to leave his beloved Norma and she had felt the same way about him.  In death it seemed he had waited on her before making his final exit from this world into the next.  According to their son, Dennis, “Dad used to say that a woman is always worth waiting for. Dad waited an hour for her and held the door for her.”

When the family went to the funeral home to make arrangements, they asked if the couple could be placed in a single casket, holding hands.  They had never been apart in life; it didn’t seem right to separate them now.  And the funeral director said yes.

Gordon and Norma Yeager lived a love story for the ages, one that few of us will ever be able to experience.  And in the end, they honored their vow . . . ‘til Death do us part.  Only this time, Death never had the privilege.

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