Lloyd and Leah Austin Wilberg were rarely apart in their 66 years of marriage and weren't apart long in the afterlife either.

Lloyd was hospitalized with pneumonia June 1 at Castle View Hospital. Leah joined him there June 6 after an accidental fall.

And when Lloyd Wilberg died June 9 at 6:30 p.m., Leah Wilberg followed six and a half hours later at 1 a.m. June 10.

"I think they just knew it, they felt it, and the Lord blessed them to be together," said son Reece Wilberg. "I think it was something that the Lord answered our prayers. They didn't want to be apart."

The Wilbergs' granddaughter, Tosha Barnett, said she feels Lloyd and Leah Wilberg knew that the other would soon pass, and they fought to leave together.

"Grandma was fighting," Barnett said. "We feel that she was waiting and fighting to stay alive. Once grandpa passed, she just relaxed. She was fighting and didn't want to go without him."

Lloyd and Leah met in Orangeville, the town of Leah's birth, and were married in 1941. In the years since, they raised two sons, Reece and Drew, in nearby Castle Dale while Lloyd worked at a sawmill, a trucking business and a coal mine.

The two were workaholics, said Reece, who now lives in Spanish Fork.

"My dad was self-employed, and mom was just part of that. It was all centered around the home and the family," he said.

Although they were unable to do many of the things that were commonplace in their younger years, the Wilbergs wanted to stay in their home and do things on their own, said Sue Anuskewic, who helped the Wilbergs daily with their medication and daily routines.

"They were fiercely independent and businesslike," Anuskewic said. " 'Work, work, work' was their motto all their lives."

While Lloyd worked in the coal mine, Leah was a devoted homemaker who took care of their sons and also helped to keep the books for Lloyd's business.

"She was the quintessential housewife," Anuskewic said. "The house was spotless until the day she died."

Drew Wilberg, from Huntington, described his parents as people who always worked hard and also gave their best.

"Anything that happened, it was done right, same with my dad," Drew Wilberg said.

And that includes raising the boys.

"She made damn sure you were clean, always going to school," he said. "We shined."

Despite the Wilbergs' busy lives, they always lent a helping hand, whether Leah was cooking for community events or Lloyd helping someone with a coal furnace; Drew said: "Anything Emery County wanted, Dad was there."

Leah also was a skilled afghan maker who won the top prize in the state fair for her craft, and she loved to share her talent with others. When her kids were married, or a new baby was born, the doting mother and grandmother always had an afghan to give. Even after she died, she had made so many afghans that there were plenty to go around the family, Reece Wilberg said.

"There are 10 grandkids, and there are enough afghans for each of them to have one and for my brother and I to have a new one," he said.

Their family believes they were happy to live, and leave, life together.

Funeral services for the Wilbergs will be at 12:30 p.m. today at the Castle Dale Stake Center, 33 E. Main St. Visitation will take place 10:30 a.m. to noon, also at the stake center.

The couple will be interned in the Orangeville City Cemetery.

The article above was found on Google and was published originally on Daily Herald