tragic? sweet? don't think about it..

Just had an elderly couple who died within days of each other:

He'd been sick for years but she died fairly suddenly, then within 3 days he shuffled off after her.

I can't decide if it's a beautiful thing, well - as beautiful as death can be.

Does it mean that they were so close he couldn't live without her?

Or perhaps that she was the only thing keeping him alive, actively or passively, and when she died he had no reason/drive to carry on.

Perhaps this means that he was holding on, possibly in pain (pulmonary fibrosis isn't pleasant), until she was gone. So death was a release..

Or perhaps the shock of having his wife of 65 years die was too much for him.

There's so many ways to read the scant information we receive here, so many ways it can be spun. Most people I'm sure want to put a rosy, happy tint on it - of course, since death is upsetting enough without trying to ponder the disturbing or ugly possibilities it raises.

There's always the possibility that theirs was an abusive co-dependent relationship and her death robbed him of the reason to live, having been in their cycle of hate for so many years there was nothing for him to live for, nothing to do, no-one to torment...

But then, perhaps theirs was one of the great true loves, ordinary people with an extraordinary bond. He was a draughtsman, she a dressmaker, theirs a happy long life, the two inextricably entwined..

Perhaps I think too much for this job.