They loved the blues, going on quick trips, driving to the lake and just being together. That's what Helen and George Murray did for 56 years.
They were inseparable, until the fateful day when they left this world together. But the couple left behind a poignant legacy.
"They were hard-working Milwaukee citizens," said Mark Murray, Helen and George Murray's son. "They gave their life and their labor to the city of Milwaukee. They loved the city of Milwaukee."
This holiday season is the first the children of George and Helen Murray will celebrate without their parents — both of whom died on March 19 earlier this year.
"I miss them," Mark Murray said. "I'm 52, and I feel like I still need my mother, I still need my father."
The couple's love story began when they were teens in Ruth, Mississippi. Written on the back of old pictures from high school are declarations of young love.
It was a courtship that culminated with a 56-year marriage.
"I never saw him get mad with her and I never saw her get mad with him," said the couple's daughter Veronica Craine.
The Murrays have four children and 25 grandchildren. George worked at Semi-Allis Chalmers for 35 years and Holsum Bakery for 20 years. Helen prepared food at a local hospital for 30 years.
"They were two peas in a pod," Craine said.
Their children recall the devastating day the coroner believes Helen fell and hit her head. The detective believes George found her on the ground and tried to save her. The youngest brother, Devin Murray, found his parents in their bedroom.
"(Devin) looked and saw my mother laying in blood, and he looked at dad, and he was cold," Craine said.
"I'm still waiting to wake up from this dream. It's like it's not real. That was my world. It's like I lost my ribs," said son Shawn Murray.
Authorities confirm that George Murray died after trying to save Helen.
"What the detective said was my dad found my mother," Craine said. "When he found her, it upset him so much that he had a massive heart attack because he couldn't save her. I don't think one could have survived without the other."
But through their grief, came a comfort. Neither had to live without each other.
"What little bit of peace that we have as brothers and sisters is that they went together," Mark Murray said.
While the family says their parents live on through their values of hard work and ethics, they urge others to hold on tight to the loved ones in their lives.
"All I can say is if you still have parents, love them, tell them you love them often," Shawn Murray said.
"Now, I have learned to treasure every day, everything and everybody," Craine said.
This story was originally published by Carole Meekins on WTMJ in Milwaukee.
