A 72-year-old widow died of “broken heart syndrome” just seven weeks after her husband of 52 years died.
Jacky Turnbull passed away on January 6 after a long struggle with dementia.
His wife, Doreen, was so broken-hearted she suffered two strokes after his death and died last week. The “utterly devoted” couple were both 72.
Jack had been a roofer and Doreen worked as a secretary in a car showroom.
Born in Edinburgh, they moved to Dalgety Bay 12 years ago and had lived in sheltered housing in Rosyth, where they were regulars at the bowling club.
Their daughter, Jacqueline Atamer (48), told how her parents married aged 20 and devoted their lives to one another. She said doctors had informed her that her mother’s death had been brought on by the loss of her father.
Jacqueline told how she took her mother to see her father after he died.
She said: “We all had our five minutes with him. When we got home and I asked her what she’d said to him, she replied ‘I just told him ‘I love you and I’ll see you soon’.
“The next day she said that she generally didn’t feel very well. I was staying with her and she took her first stroke on January 16, 10 days after my father had died.
“The doctor actually took my brother and I aside and said that she’d had a stroke but it was known as broken heart syndrome.
“We hadn’t had his funeral yet. It was on January 21 and the hospital kept saying they didn’t know if they could let her go.
“Somehow, she got the most amazing strength and went. She just rallied must have used all the power that she had.
“I can’t describe their devotion to each other. On the day she managed to get out of her wheelchair and walk into the bedroom, with help. Then she sat and waited on his hearse coming.
“We got her back to the hospital in the evening and the nurses said they were really amazed she’d done it. But three days later she took another massive stroke and it was just downhill from there.
“They said there was nothing they could medically do for her. She was a very strong character but obviously, deep down, she just couldn’t survive without him.
“They were unbelievably close. She was his soulmate and his main carer for the 10 years that he suffered with dementia.
“She kept his routine so regimented. His tea and tablets were always at the same time so that he didn’t get any more confused than he was.
“They had never been apart except for a short time when my father had to work in England for three or four weeks. She had a heart of gold and would have done anything for anybody.”
Doreen died last Thursday and her funeral will be on Friday in Edinburgh.