Phantom Maelstrom

Gordon and Norma Yeager

Who would have thought that the Notebook, a movie about true love, would occur in real life? Perhaps it wouldn't. However recently, Iowa couple Norma and Gordon Yeager, both in their 90s and had been married for 72 years died holding each other's hands. This was following a car accident that render them both unresponsive and were hospitalized.

According to the report, it was last Wednesday, as the couple was driving into town, Gordon mistakenly pulled out in front of another car. The Yeagers were rushed to the hospital following the collision and given a shared room in intensive care. Though they were unresponsive, they held hands as they lay there side-by-side. At 3:38 p.m., Gordon died, but then, his family noticed that his heart monitor was still beeping. "It was really strange." Dennis Yeager, son of the couple, says. Then a nurse looked and saw that the couple were still holding hands. "Her heart was beating through him and the monitor was picking it up," Dennis says. At 4:48 p.m., one hour after her husband had died, Norma passed away as well. "Neither one of them would've wanted to be without each other," says their daughter, Donna Sheets. "We were very blessed, honestly, that they went this way."

Norma was 90-year-old while Gordon was 94. It was said that these couple met while Norma was still in high school and Gordon was working at the Chevrolet Garage in State Center, Iowa. They were married on May 26, 1939, the day Norma graduated. They had four children together, one daughter and three sons. Tragically, their two middle children were killed in car accidents. "They believed in marriage," says their son, Dennis. "They chose each other and once they had committed, that was it."

Gordon passed away, and exactly one hour later, Norma followed him. "They just loved being together," says Dennis. "He always said, 'I can't go until she does because I gotta stay here for her.' And she would say the same thing."

At their funeral on Tuesday, Norma and Gordon shared a casket and held hands. Once cremated, their ashes will be mixed together.

Lindsay Mannering comments, "We don't hear love stories like Norma and Gordon's anymore. We hear about lying, cheating, and divorce. Hopefully there are couples all over the world who share a similar story because I'd like to live in a world where this is the norm and not the exception."