100-year-old Ohio couple dies hours apart, ending their 79 years of marriage

Hubert and June Malicote, a couple who were married for 79 years, died hours apart. They were 100. 

On Nov. 30, Hubert passed away, with June following 20 hours later. According to his obituary, their death ends their 79 years of marriage and 81 years of being together. 

Their son Sam said his father died of a “broken heart.” When June was brought to a hospice, Hubert became so sad about it that he "fell apart" and also became unconscious for days.

"He literally, I think, just willed himself to go on ahead of her and he went 20 hours ahead of her," their daughter Jo said.

“As hard as it was, you could just feel their connection to each other and that they couldn't, they just couldn't be without the other. It was that simple,” Jo said to Dayton 24/7 Now. “Life was not going to go on without the other. So how perfect that they should go essentially go together.”

Meanwhile, Sam said he's happy his parents lived that long. “I feel sad, but I shouldn’t. Who can expect to live a life like that? They lived a long, happy life together and they were devoted to God and the family.”

The couple was both born in July 1922. June was born on July 13, while Hubert was born on July 23 in Kentucky.

Celebrating their 100th birthdays and 79 years of marriage, the couple shared their long and fulfilled love story in an interview last July. 

Beginning their story at church and turning their friendship into love, the two decided to get married on June 8, 1943. However, they had to spend two years apart during World War II when Hubert served with the Navy in Honolulu, Hawaii. 

After the war, the two began their life in Hamilton, Ohio, and were blessed with three children, seven grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.

“We made it, it meant something,” Hubert said in the interview, looking back to their story full of life and love.