AILSA CHANG, HOST:
For more than a year, we have shared stories about people who have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. Today, the story of an Ohio couple who were childhood sweethearts.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
They were Dick and Shirley Meek. Last December, the Meeks celebrated 70 years of marriage. Their grandson, Jesse Fischer, says the pandemic forced them to revise their plans for that milestone.
JESSE FISCHER: There was planned to be a big 70th anniversary celebration and, a year prior, had started planning that. And then, of course, like the rest of the world, you know, everything had to change.
Grandparents die of Covid-19 holding hands cnn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cnn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Holding Hands, Ohio Couple Married for 70 Years Dies Minutes Apart After Contracting Covid-19
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In a heartbreaking incident, an Ohio couple of 70 years who had contracted COVID-19 died minutes apart from each other.
The couple Dick Meek (90) and Shirley Meek (87) had celebrated their 70 years of marriage on December 22 and tested positive for coronavirus after a couple of weeks following which they were admitted to Riverside Hospital in Columbus, a report in
Admitted in separate rooms, the couple s family got their parents placed in the same room upon hospital staff s approval to have them share their final moments together.
Holding hands, couple married 70 years dies from COVID-19 minutes apart By WBNS Staff | January 21, 2021 at 3:13 AM CST - Updated January 21 at 3:13 AM
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WBNS) - An Ohio couple who had just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary died from COVID-19 within minutes of each other. Their family hopes their deaths serve as a warning to others.
Sisters Debbie Howell, Vicki Harper and Kelly Meek gathered on a Zoom call Tuesday to remember their parents, Dick and Shirley Meek, who died from the coronavirus. It was also Dick’s birthday, and he would have turned 90. Shirley was 87. Dick and Shirley Meek, ages 89 and 87, died from COVID-19 within minutes of each other. Their deaths came less than a month after their 70th wedding anniversary. (Source: Meek Family, WBNS via CNN)
COSHOCTON COUNTY, Ohio The increasing death toll from COVID-19 has devastated many families on a personal level. One instance illustrates that like no other.
An Ohio couple that had recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary both passed away minutes apart, leaving behind seven decades of memories, five children, 13 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren.
Dick and Shirley Meek celebrated their anniversary on Dec. 22. It was then when they innocuously told their children they were feeling a little under the weather. They said to all us kids, we think we re getting colds, said Kelly Meek. But suddenly, things got bad and it was evident this was no mere cold.