An incredible yet solemn story of love unfolded earlier this month as a couple married 70 years passed away within hours of one another.
On Sunday 11 December, 89-year-old Aspasia Despotelis left this world, the very next day her beloved husband Panagiotis joined her.
“Since Aspasia died I don’t want to live. I want to die,” said 90-year-old Panagiotis, according to a relative in a statement to Neos Kosmos.
The couple, together for so much of their lives, departed together in death. Their funeral took place at St. Nekratios church in Fawkner.
“It was very sad to say goodbye to them both so close together, but on the other hand, it was an incredible love story,” their relative told Neos Kosmos.
“We’re saddened but we shouldn’t be, who else can expect to live such a life… they left together, as a loving couple,” she said.
Both born in the village of Ambeliko on the Aegean island of Lesvos, the two married on their home island before migrating to Australia.
It’s a story that’s melancholy but heart-warming at the same time, reminding us that love really can last forever.
They leave behind loving children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and adoring friends who will remember them fondly.
