Kenneth and Marilyn Oland celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last July. Last week, six days after a horrific car crash, they died next to each other in a Baltimore hospital.
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The tragic accident unfolded near the couple's Thurmont, Maryland, home. The 90-year-old Kenneth was driving with his 88-year-old wife. Their vehicle was struck on the side by another car while traveling on Route 15.
The Couple Was Rushed to the Hospital After the Car Crash
At the hospital, Kenneth and Marilyn faced severe health complications from the crash, and both were placed on life support.
After six days, as it became clear their condition would not improve, Kenneth and Marilyn were taken off life support while holding hands.
"I don't think one could've lasted without the other," a friend, Nancy Echard, told the local Fox affiliate. "That's how tight they were. You always saw them together, no matter where you were."
The Olands Were "Quite the Pair"
Kenneth and Marilyn were the parents of three children. They also had five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Before the crash, they had lunch at the Thurmont Senior Center. The couple was regularly seen there twice a month playing bingo.
A social media post from the venue said, "They were simply quite the pair."
"You rarely saw one without the other, and that was no accident," the post explained. "They were two people who genuinely chose each other, every single day. In the end, even in their passing, they were not apart for long. They were a living reminder of what lasting love looks like, and we were blessed to witness it."
The couple's obituary said the pair were devout churchgoers who regularly brought flowers to friends in nursing homes. They were also known for bringing everyone together for holidays, birthdays, and other celebrations.
"If there's one thing we could share about my grandparents, it's not only the 70 years they've had together and that they chose to be together every day and chose to go away together and leave this earth together," their granddaughter Kristie Hopkins told reporters.
"Their legacy is just how to be humans — be humble and kind and graceful to others and help strangers in need."
