text: A Utah couple who had been married for 74 years died five hours apart. Madelyn Yensen, 94, of Salt Lake City, died just after 4pm before her husband passed away at 9.30pm. Just after her mother died, Carol Bradford went to see her 95-year-old father at a care center and told him the news. 'I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Mom has passed, and she's waiting for you in heaven,"' Bradford said. 'I think after that, he knew he had accomplished what he needed, and he felt that he could let go.' Shortly after her visit on April 7, Bradford's father died of heart failure. Marcus Yensen, 95 (left), and his wife Madelyn, 94 (right), died within hours of each other earlier this month after a romance that started with a month of dating and continued through 74 years of marriage . Madelyn died after suffering a seizure when she was called over to her husband's bedside and was holding his hand, according to KSL. The traumatic attack was the last time they saw each other. 'They were always together, and they were always very happy with each other,' she said. Her father always insisted her mother should die at home with proper care, Bradford said. The two married on October 17, 1940, only a month after they met when he took a dance lesson from her at a local studio. They had lived since 1949 in a quaint, brick home where they raised their three children and adopted a calico cat named Moonpie who had shown up repeatedly at their doorstep. The couple's son, Byron Yensen, said that while it was painful to lose both parents in a single day, it was comforting to know they weren't apart from each other long. The couple live in the same brick house for more than 65 years. A funeral service for them will be held at their local church (pictured) 'It would have been very difficult for Mom or Dad to live without the other,' he told the Deseret News. 'They really loved each other.' 'He didn't want to die and leave her here. He wanted to take care of her,' he added. A joint obituary for the couple said 'Being the gentlemen he always was, and showing the eternal love they had together, Marcus held the gates of heaven open so Madelyn could walk in first, then followed her'. Marcus Yensen, who had been fighting heart problems for months before his death, was a World War II Navy veteran and Union Pacific Railroad engineer, while his wife was a homemaker. The couple renewed their vows last year on their anniversary . A funeral service will be held May 9 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City.
target: Madelyn Yensen, 94, died five hours before husband Marcus, 95 .
  Salt Lake City couple with three children lived in same house since 1949 .
  Madelyn suffered seizure while holding her husband's hand at his bedside .
  Marcus later died of cardiac arrest, family said .
  Couple met in 1940 when Marcus took dance lesson from his future wife .