Minnesota's 'Longest Married Couple' passes away months apart

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A love story for the ages has come to an end. A couple from St. Peter, Minnesota, once named the "Longest Married Couple In Minnesota" has died.

"They were totally in love," Myron Kaduce said about his parents Ervin and Verna. "There were no ifs or ands about it. Nobody ever questioned their loyalty to each other."

When the Kaduces got married in 1938, they promised to love each other 'til death do us part. But even dying couldn't keep them separate for long.

"We can be happy that they are both together again," said Myron. "That's the way I look at it and I think the rest of my family feels the same way. Now they are back together for eternity."

Fox 9 first met the couple about a year ago when they were about to celebrate their 78th wedding anniversary.

"I knew he was the one," said Verna said at the time. "I knew him all my life. Wouldn't you have snapped him up before anyone else did?"

They still held hands like a couple of lovesick teenagers, and the state of their union had been recognized by the state of Minnesota for its longevity.

"I took my vows very seriously and on days when things didn't work out, he would always say put your trust in the Lord and tomorrow will be better," said Verna.

But at the end of July, Verna passed away from COPD, a chronic lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. Her death knocked the wind out of Ervin, who joined her about three months later, passing away from what their children suspect was a broken heart.

"Dad was lonesome," said Myron. "We noticed that. He was very lonesome yet he had lots of visitors but he was still lonesome for mom."

But even a beautiful love story must come to a close and after a lifetime of memorable moments, it’s easy to picture Ervin and Verna together in the afterlife too.

"It was a storybook life," said Myron. "That's the long and short of it. Very few people have a love story like theirs and that was my mom and dad."

The Kaduces were buried next to each other in a cemetery in Beauford, Minnesota, near their old family farm.

They are survived by five of their six children and a large extended family.

In case you're wondering, the record for the longest married couple in Minnesota Fox 9 could find was a couple from Hugo who were together for 83 years.