VIRGINIA (AP) — A 95-year-old newlywed died just weeks after his 96-year-old wife was taken away by family members to Florida.
Rebecca Wright, who was caring for the couple in their Alexandria, Virginia, home, says Eddie Harrison of Virginia died Tuesday, December 30th in a hospital after suffering from influenza.
Wright says Harrison was distressed after his wife and longtime companion, 96-year-old Edith Hill, was taken away. Wright is Hill's daughter.
"He lived for her, and she lived for him. It's the love story of the century," Wright told The Guardian -- recalling how they would dance, take walks and care for one another.
Harrison and Hill's marriage was disputed this year in court. The Guardian reports their marriage was problematic because Hill has been declared legally incapacitated for several years.
Another of Hill's daughters contested the marriage, saying it complicates the eventual distribution of Hill's estate. The Guardian reports Hill and Harrison said they wanted to stay together.
The Guardian reports the interracial aspect of their marriage was also unique. The longtime Virginians wouldn't have been allowed to marry if they had met in their 20s, 30s or 40s under state law at the time.
A judge appointed a new guardian for Hill but left the marriage intact.
Wright says the guardian took Hill away to her other daughter's Florida home on December 6th with help from police. It was supposed to be a two-week vacation, The Guardian reports, but Harrison soon realized Hill wasn't coming back.
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