The Love Story of a Bristol Couple

They spent their lives together, they died within days of each other, and tomorrow family and friends will gather for the joint funeral of Mary and Ted Williams.

When 87-year-old Mary passed away at Southmead Hospital on March 10, Ted was holding her hand from the neighbouring bed.

The 90-year-old had himself been admitted to Frenchay Hospital with a heart complaint, shortly after his wife of 69 years was admitted to Southmead suffering from pneumonia.

But when they realised the couple had been inseparable since their teenage years, medical staff at the two hospitals devised a compassionate plan to ensure they were happy in their final days.

Ted was transferred to the same ward as his wife and he was able to hold Mary's hand from the neighbouring bed for the final three hours of her life. Just three days later, Ted died – not so much of a broken heart as fading away, according to his son Tony.

"I'm so grateful to the NHS staff for having the compassion and thoughtfulness to transfer my dad to be with my mum, without us even asking for it," said the 67-year-old, from Keynsham.

"It made my parents happy in their final hours. My mum passed away happy, knowing that her beloved husband was with her and holding her hand, and then my dad was able to pass on, feeling his life was complete.

"My dad had a long-standing heart complaint – he had his first heart attack in his 40s, and retired early in his mid-50s because of it. But he always said he'd make sure he'd stay alive while mum was around, because he didn't want her to be left alone.

"Mum and dad had the happiest life you can imagine, and they couldn't have asked for more than this when their time came to pass on.

"When I arrived at the hospital after mum had died, my dad said to me that his time was up and he was happy to pass on now. Then he faded away, and just three days later, he passed away peacefully in his sleep just as mum had done."

 

The story of the couple's life together reads like a love story. Muriel – known to all as Mary – met Ted Williams when she was just 13 years old and he was 15.

Mr Williams said: "They met at church. My dad was a Catholic and went to St Nicholas of Tolentino Church in Lawford's Gate.

"My mum converted to Catholicism at that young age because she had already taken a shine to my dad, and she knew that in those days people from different denominations couldn't marry."

But love blossomed in this holy setting and the couple tied the knot in 1941, when Ted was 21 and Mary was 19.

"Dad was an engineer, and he stayed here in Bristol working on planes during the war, so they weren't even separated then," Mr Williams said.

"Then after the war my dad had a good career as an engineer with Bristol Cars and later even worked as a supervisor on the Concorde project.

"But they were always happiest in the evenings when they were together. They were simple people, and although dad made good money through his career, they gave most of it away to friends and family whom they felt were in greater need.

"They didn't want any luxuries, they were simply happy in each other's company. Their great love was making music in the evenings. Dad would play the spoons and mum would sing. They would encourage me to play guitar, and half the neighbourhood would come around with different instruments."

The couple spent more than 60 years in their home in Ullswater Road, Southmead, before moving into a residential care home in Westbury-on-Trym for the last three years of their life.

"Everyone in the area of Southmead where they lived knew my mum and dad," Mr Williams said. "Everyone in the street called them Aunty Mary and Uncle Ted. For my contemporaries, they had simply always been around, and everyone thought of them as family."

The final love letter between the pair was written by Mary from her hospital bed, just days before her death.

Unaware that her husband was also in hospital, she wrote: 'Why haven't you come in to see me, my darling?'

"Perhaps the medical staff at Frenchay heard about the letter, and they did this wonderful thing – they went to great effort to get my dad moved to be in the next bed to my mum," Mr Williams said.

"It gave my parents the perfect end to their life-long love story. You really can't ask for much more than that."

Mary and Ted Williams' joint funeral will be held at Canford Crematorium at 3pm tomorrow, followed by drinks at Sommerville House, Cricket Lane, Westbury-on-Trym. The family request no flowers to be sent, but rather donations to the League of Friends at either Southmead or Frenchay hospitals.

From bristol.co.uk website