Held Hands Through Their Last Week
One Ohio couple brought new meaning to the phrase “‘til death do us part” when they died within just a few hours of each other on Christmas Eve. Bill and Nancy Schafrath were married for 64 years. They held hands through the last week of their life in their nursing home beds. (1)
Bill was one of 12 children, and the couple had many nieces and nephews. One of their nieces, Pat Cornelius, told Cincinnati.com that because Bill and Nancy hadn’t had children, “they were exceptionally close to each other.” (1)
Bill, 88, and Nancy, 85, lived together at the Brookdale Senior Living Center in Wooster, Ohio for the last year of their life. Although the couple had separate beds at the senior living center, their family pushed them together when Bill’s condition started to deteriorate. (1)
“In the last couple weeks, when he couldn’t get out of bed anymore, we’d push their beds together in the middle of the room,” Cornelius said. “So they literally held hands for the last week of their life.” (1)
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‘Til Death Do Us Part
On December 24, 2019, Bill died around 7 a.m. at Brookdale Senior Living Center. Nancy passed away just hours later, around 11 a.m. (1)
“It’s almost like they decided that if one went, the other would go, too,” their nephew, John Moritz, told Cincinnati.com. “Somehow they knew.” (1)
Bill was a veteran of the United States Army. He served in Korea from 1951 to 1953. Bill was extremely involved in his community. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, Wooster Elks, Massillon Moose Lodge, V.F.W. of Canal Fulton and American Legion Post 68 of Wooster. Bill’s career was bricklaying and he was also a member of the Bricklayers and Masonry and Plasterers International Union of America. (1)
Nancy worked at the Wayne Savings Community Bank for 35 years. She started out as a teller and eventually became the first vice president and manager of the bank’s Cleveland Road branch. Like Bill, she was involved in their community and volunteered for the organizations Friendtique and People to People Ministries. She was also a member of the Quota Club, the Friends and Neighbors of Every Women’s House, and the Loyal Order of Moose 135. (1)
Unique Couple
A group of more than 200 people attended the couple’s funeral Mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Bill and Nancy were members of St. Mary’s for the entire time they were married. (1)
During his homily at the funeral mass, Father Richard Samide said, “Certainly for me, as I imagine for most of you, this is a first, a Mass where we are burying a married couple together, who died on the same day of natural causes.” (1)
Father Samide characterized the timing of Bill and Nancy’s deaths as a gift. He found it merciful that the couple didn’t have to spend much time apart after one of them passed away. (1)
“Surely Jesus knew their faith,” Father Samide said. “And so when he decided to call them home, how merciful that he call them together, so they only had to spend a couple hours apart until they were back together again.” (1)
