Tag Archives: stamford

Wow, this is really touching. Can you imagine loving someone else so much your heart just stops when their life ends? Via NY Daily News reports: Livia Fortuna cried out for Giuseppe — her dear husband — moments after his death only to succumb to her own broken heart. The Italian pair, Giuseppe and Livia Fortuna, died within one hour of each other after 69 years of marriage after falling in love in Rome. They couldn’t bear to be apart even at the Smith House Health Care Center in Stamford, Connecticut where they lived together until their death Dec. 13 following years of declining health. “That was the end of the love story. She had to follow him,” the couple’s daughter Angela Munzenmair told the Stamford Advocate. The couple had married in Italy before the end of World War II. The first 15 years of their marriage were spent raising their children and running a Tuscan restaurant. She described her parent’s relationship as volatile with petty fighting, but only because they “liked making up so much,” Munzenmair added. Only a week before their death, Livia told her grandson that Giuseppe was dying and she’d be “going with him.” He suffered from dementia and cancer while Livia had chronic obstructive lung disease, according to the Advocate. His death sent the 86-year-old wife into an emotional fit, screaming for her Giuseppe as the nursing staff tried to keep her calm. “They probably couldn’t live without the other,” Munzenmair said. “They are in a good place and don’t have to suffer anymore … they can just be happy.” It’s rare for spouses to die within minutes of each other, psychiatric experts told the Advocate, but it’s possible through extreme depression or by halting medication, the other spouse could essentially die of a so-called broken heart. Sweet story right? Our condolences go out to their family, but it’s heartwarming to know those two are still together in the afterlife. Courtesy Photo Continue reading →