The dying embrace of husband and wife who were married for 75 years and died just hours apart as they held hands in bed

A poignant photo has emerged which shows an elderly couple who were married for 75 years fulfilling their final wishes to die together.

Jeanette Toczko, 96, and her 95-year-old husband, Alexander Toczko, from San Diego, California, died just hours apart as they held hands in bed.

The pair spent their lives in love after becoming boyfriend and girlfriend when they were only eight years old. 

But several weeks ago, Mr Toczko suffered a broken hip in a fall and was left bed-bound. A local hospice delivered a special bed to his home, which staff pushed up next to his beloved wife's bed.

As Mr Toczko's condition quickly declined, Mrs Toczko's own health took a turn for the worse. The couple had always said they wished to die 'in their own bed, holding hands, in each other's arms'

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As the couple neared death, in early June, a confused Mrs Toczko reportedly told her children that the date was June 29 - the day she and Mr Toczko would have celebrated 75 years of marriage.

The couple's children went along with it, telling their mother it was, indeed, the anniversary.

'We said happy anniversary, and my mother was thrilled because it was their anniversary and she knew that he was going and that they had made it to 75 years,' said Mrs Toczko-Cushman.

Mr and Mrs Toczko were buried at Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego on Monday.