After 63 years together, couple dies hours apart

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Dolores and Trent Winstead were married for nearly 64 years. Brought together by fate, the Tennessee couple couldn't stand to be apart.

"Christmas used to be both of their favorite time of the year," their son, Eddie Winstead, told WKRN.

Trent and Dolores met back in the 50s in Dickson County, Tennessee. They were wed not long after, thanks to an impromptu bathroom proposal.

"In order to not get a no, I guess, he waits until she's brushing her teeth to ask her to marry him," Winstead said.

The two made a perfect pair, with quiet Dolores stocking her shelves with countless cookbooks and the ever-outgoing Trent, spending days on the lake and months serving in Korea.

Letter after letter was sent to dear Dolores, writing he was "awful glad to hear from her."

"They were opposites from each other, and I think that's what made them click," said Sheryl Winstead, their daughter-in-law.

The two spent their golden years, in West Nashville until a few weeks back, went Trent fell ill.

"They said that his kidneys were failing, and they needed to get him stabilized," their son said.

Dolores stood by his side as long as she could at the hospital.

"She starts having a really bad headache. She was having a brain aneurysm," their son said. "Both of them ended up in the same hospital room. From that point, she lasted about two days."

The 63-year marriage finished weeks before anniversary 64. Eddie was tasked with breaking the news to his dad.

"I had to lean down next to him, and just kind of tell him, 'Dad, Mom has passed,'" he said. "It's kind of like his whole spirit, just changed. I told him, I said, 'Dad, if you want to go be with Mom, that's quite alright with Sheryl and I.'"

Trent would join Dolores hours later. The two who were married for decades were apart less than a day.

"A real life love story, come together right there at the end. It blows me away when I think of it," their son said.

For the Winsteads, Christmas this year will be a somber celebration. Poring through old photos, telling well-worn stories, and remembering a marriage, that will last long beyond the winter.

"It's like God made their travel arrangements and they went together, it's just really sweet," Sheryl Winstead said.