Dolores and Trent Winstead were inseparable for over six decades, right up until the end — they passed away within hours of one another. The Nashville couple spent their final moments together holding hands as they lay in hospital beds.

Earlier this month, Trent, 88, was admitted to Saint Thomas West Hospital’s intensive care unit after suffering kidney failure. Shortly thereafter, his beloved wife, Dolores, 83, suffered a severe brain aneurysm as she stood by his bedside. Initially, she was placed in a separate room on a ventilator. However, after her condition began to deteriorate, the hospital staff received approval to move the married couple to the same room. The Washington Post reports that Dolores stopped breathing at 9:10 p.m. on December 9th and Trent died at 4 p.m. the following day.

Mr. and Mrs. Winstead’s love story began in the early 1950s in Dickson County, Tennessee. They sent each other letters while Trent was stationed overseas in the military. When he returned from serving in the Korean War, he couldn’t wait any longer for them to be together, so he decided to pop the question while she was brushing her teeth.

The couple would have celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary on January 17th. In accordance with their wishes, they were buried and laid to rest in pink and blue caskets, respectively, placed side by side. They leave behind two children, three grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

Sheryl Winstead, the couple’s 57-year-old daughter, tells ABC News that “It’s been really hard for me because I was so close to them, and I never expected to lose both my parents at the same time,” Winstead said. “But, on the hand, I do see the sweet story in this — that they went together happily, and that’s the way they wanted it.”

— Stefania Sainato