A couple from Tennessee, who were just weeks away from celebrating their 64th wedding anniversary, passed away within hours of each other at Saint Thomas West Hospital in Nashville. Dolores Winstead, 83, and Trent Winstead, 88, spent their last moments side by side, hand in hand in their hospital beds.
Just days earlier, Dolores, in good health, had stood beside her husband, holding his hand as he battled failing kidneys. Their enduring love was evident until the very end, drawing their life’s closing chapter to a poignant close two weeks prior, and five weeks short of another milestone in their enduring union.
Trent Winstead’s health deteriorated as dialysis began affecting his heart, leading to his transfer to intensive care. His wife Dolores and their two adult children, Eddie and Sheryl, bore witness to his declining condition with heavy hearts.
However, tragedy struck the family again on the night of December 7. Dolores, who had been a pillar of strength, began complaining of a headache and started vomiting. At 83, she suffered a severe brain aneurysm while standing vigil at her husband’s bedside and was promptly connected to a ventilator as her own health precipitously declined.
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, hospital staff obtained permission to place the couple in the same room, allowing them to be together during their final hours. An evocative image captures them, hand in hand, a testament to an unyielding bond.
At 9:10pm on December 9, Dolores breathed her last. Eddie, their son, faced the heartbreaking task of informing Trent that his cherished wife had passed away. Trent responded by blowing a tender kiss to Dolores and, just a few hours later, joined her in eternal rest.
“Because she was gone, he just could not handle it. We just watched him die,” Sheryl recounted to the Washington Post, echoing the poignant testament of a love so strong, it transcended the barriers of life and death.
The depth of the couple’s connection became undeniably evident in their passing. “I hadn’t thought about it this way at the time. (He) literally, he died of a broken heart,” Eddie revealed, consumed by disbelief that he left the hospital without either parent. “Never in a million years did I think I was going to come out of the hospital with neither one.”
Their love story unfolded in the 1950s in Dickson County, Tennessee, where they met and fell deeply in love. The Korean War called Trent away, yet their affection remained unwavering, strengthened by the love letters they exchanged. Upon Trent’s return, a marriage proposal ensued, surprisingly and sweetly, as Dolores brushed her teeth.
Together, Dolores and Trent welcomed not just two children, but an extended family including three grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Despite their contrasting personalities – Dolores, the quiet and culinary-inclined; Trent, the outgoing fisherman – their love was a unifying force, anticipated to celebrate its 64th anniversary on January 17.
However, destiny had other plans. The couple was laid to rest side by side last week, Dolores in a pink casket, Trent in blue, a silent testimony to a love as vibrant and enduring as the colors that encased them.
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