By Southampton couple die of Covid-19 on same day
A Southampton couple have died on the same day, having both received a positive result following a test for Covid-19.
Bill and Mary Dartnall had been married for over 60 years.
Bill Dartnall, 90, died hours after his wife Mary, 81, at Southampton General Hospital on Easter Sunday. Both had tested positive for coronavirus.
Their daughter Rosemary said her father had declined further oxygen treatment after learning of his wife’s death.
She added he “didn’t want to be here without Mum”.
“They came as a pair – my dad would be certain he wouldn’t want to be about without Mum,” Ms Dartnall said.
The couple, who had been married for 63 years, had been living in a temporary care home at the Holiday Inn hotel in Southampton when Mrs Dartnell was taken ill and brought into hospital at the end of March.
Mr Dartnall suffered a stroke and was admitted to hospital just days later.
She said her parents were “enterprising, hardworking and always did things a bit differently”.
“They were quite special people. They worked extremely hard throughout their lives and were blessed with a can-do attitude to life,” she added.
Rosemary and her sister are planning a memorial for their parents to “celebrate their lives properly” after the lockdown restrictions are lifted.
This follows an announcement last week, that twin sisters Katy and Emma Davis, also from Southampton, had died within three days of each other after both testing positive for Covid-19.
Contact Gi Portsmouth
Email us: news@gi-media.co.uk
