Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Just after her mother died at age 94, Carol Bradford went to see her 95-year-old father and told him the news.
"I leaned over and whispered in his ear, 'Mom has passed, and she's waiting for you in heaven.' I think after that, he knew he had accomplished what he needed, and he felt that he could let go," Bradford said.
Shortly after her visit on April 7, Bradford's father, Marcus Yensen, died of heart failure. Madelyn Yensen, his wife of 74 years, had died after suffering a seizure five hours earlier that day.
"They were always together, and they were always very happy with each other," she said. Her father always insisted her mother should die at home with proper care, Bradford said.
The two married on Oct. 17, 1940, only a month after they met when he took a dance lesson from her at a studio. They had lived since 1949 in a quaint, brick home where they raised their three children.
The couple's son, Byron Yensen, said that while it was painful to lose both parents in a single day, it was comforting to know they weren't apart from each other long.
"It would have been very difficult for Mom or Dad to live without the other," he told the Deseret News. "They really loved each other."
"He didn't want to die and leave her here. He wanted to take care of her," he added.
Marcus Yensen was a World War II veteran and Union Pacific Railroad engineer, while his wife was a homemaker.
A funeral service will be held May 9 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City.
___
Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
