Most of us are familiar with the wedding vows that state, in part, that we would be together “till death do us part.” Those words show the commitment that humans have for each other and the strength of the marriage as they are entering into it. It seems as if there may also be some truth to those words in some cases.
Some marriage vows are broken and it is a sad fact of life. For certain special couples, however, the bond that they have seems to extend beyond death itself. That is the case with the Hartwigs. Violet and Floyd met in grammar school and after they graduated, they reconnected when Floyd was home on leave from the Navy.
Eventually, they married in 1947 and they moved to a ranch in Easton, California. It was there that they raised their three children and spent their lives working side-by-side with each other on a daily basis. It really brought them close together and that closeness stayed for the long haul.
“I think the thing that we think about them the most was how hardworking they were,” recalled the couple’s daughter, Donna Scharton. “They worked side by side chopping cotton, feeding turkeys, and supporting each other and supporting the children. And you had a sense that they had a connection, and I think that connection just came more and more, especially in the last months of their lives.”
As Floyd and Violet got older, they begin to experience health problems. Violet had dementia and she continued to go downhill. Floyd also had health problems but he was always concerned about his wife. Their daughter, Donna, recalled that her father could barely walk without running out of breath but he was only concerned about his wife’s comfort and health.
Donna said that she had taken them to the doctor one day and her father said that he wanted his wife to be fixed. Through it all, her health declined and the family began to discuss hospice care. It was then that they got a call from the doctor that shocked all of them.
Floyd was diagnosed with kidney failure and he only had two weeks to live. The family brought Violet to the hospital and they spent their final days together there. When they knew that he was drawing close to dying, the entire family gathered nearby. It included the three children, four grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Floyd was in intense pain and he was getting closer to the end so the hospital beds of this loving couple were pushed closer together so they could hold hands.
Donna said that her father continued to fight until the end because he didn’t want to leave his wife. At the age of 90, however, he eventually passed away.
Violet followed her husband in death only five hours later.
The family was heartbroken over losing both Floyd and Violet within hours of each other but they knew it was what they would have wanted. They always said they wanted to die at home and die together.
“We felt blessed because that’s what they wanted,” Donna said through tears. “It was meant to be, and that’s the only way it could end.”
Floyd and Violet had been married for 67 years and they had the ending that they wanted.
“They never ever asked for anything,” Donna said. “All they ever wanted was their family, and it was amazing that they got that in the end.”
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