The world's longest married couple have finally been separated after 83 years - by death.
The accolade enjoyed by Steve Wrubel, 103, and his wife Vickie, 102, from Tampa Bay, Florida, came to an end on Monday morning when Vickie passed away.
After the 102-year-old broke her hip two years ago and began to suffer from other problems due to old age, she was moved to a nursing home where Steve would visit her every day.
They would sit together in silence, holding hands, as they always did.
Steve and Vickie Wrubel sit for a portrait in their home in Holiday in 2009 before their 80th wedding anniversary on September 28. The Wrubels celebrated their 83rd wedding anniversary on Sept. 28, 2012
Vickie would ask her husband of 83 years when she could go home. He told her, 'Soon.'
Her niece Jane Messing told The Tampa Bay Times the fuss made over their long marriage made her feel special. 'Like a princess,' Messing said.
The Wrubel's lived together in an adult living facility in Romeo, Michigan, until Vickie silently slipped away on Monday morning
'They made a mark. They took care of each other. They loved each other and set an example.
'Thank God she and Uncle Steve were finally together at the end.'
Just six days before their 83rd anniversary last year, the couple moved to the top of the informal list recognizing the most enduring marriage in the United States after the wife of another couple passed away.
Steve Wrubel never seemed all that impressed with the list. 'It just means we're old,' the retired General Motors worker would say.
Though they never had children, the couple had enough nieces and nephews who looked out for them.
In February, the couple moved to an adult living facility in Romeo, Michigan.
Niece Carol Essenmacher said: 'He did it for Aunt Vickie. He adjusted to not living in his own home. He was happy because they were finally back together. He was always holding her hand.'
Essenmacher imagined her uncle was doing just that early Monday morning when Vickie Wrubel silently passed away with her husband by her side as always.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2306600/Steve-Vickie-Wrubel-Americas-longest-married-couple-83-years-parted-death.html#ixzz2Q1P4x5ne
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