A husband and wife who eloped in 1942 and were married for more than
seven decades died hours apart this week at a hospice in northern
Illinois.
Family members say Robert and Nora Viands were
inseparable during their marriage, which included three separate wedding
ceremonies. Together, they raised five children.
'They were really never apart,' said one of their daughters, Barb Milton. 'They would hold hands in the dining room.'
The
two lived together in their home until moving to a Rockford retirement
center earlier this year as their health deteriorated.
Robert
Viands, who had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, was 92 when he
died around 12:45 a.m. Wednesday. Nora Viands, 88, died at 4:45 p.m.
She'd been hospitalized with pneumonia in December.
Milton said
that whenever the couple would go anywhere throughout their marriage,
when their father decided it was time to leave he would tell his wife
and be out the door. Robert would wait in the car while Nora would
linger, saying her goodbyes.
'We joked (after Nora died) that he
was tugging on her, saying 'Come on Nora,' and she said 'No, I have to
say goodbye to the kids,' Milton said.
The couple, who were
originally from Ashland in central Illinois, met on a blind date. But
family members say Nora wasn't initially smitten, and vowed not to go
out with him again.
Robert, who was later drafted during World War
II, persisted and the two went on a second date.
They eventually eloped
to Missouri because at 17, Nora was too young to legally wed in
Illinois.
To appease their families — she was Catholic, he was Methodist
— they had two more ceremonies in their respective churches. The couple marked their 71st anniversary in June.
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