A Georgia couple who had been married for 71 years just passed away on the same day 12 hours apart in a love story that is touching the hearts of internet users everywhere.

Herbert DeLaigle and his wife Marilyn Frances DeLaigle met when he was 22 and she was 16, and they were inseparable for 71 years until they both passed away on July 12. The love they had for each other was clear last year, when they were interviewed by reporters on their 70th wedding anniversary. In the interview, Herbert remembered the day he met Frances like it was yesterday.

“Frances worked at a little cafe we had in Waynesboro named White Way Cafe. I kept seeing her going in and out, in and out and I had my eyes set on her,” he remembered. “And then I finally got up the nerve to ask her if she would go out with me sometime.”

They went to the movies for their first date, and Herbert asked her to marry him one year later. Though she said yes immediately, their wedding almost did not end up happening for a humorous reason. Herbert, who was known for always being late, had to convince the preacher to marry them even though they were an hour late to their own wedding!

After getting married, the couple spent six years living in Germany, where Herbert was stationed during World War II. He served in the U.S. Army for 22 years, with deployments in Korea and Vietnam before he retired. Herbert and Frances had six children together, and they are survived by them as well as 16 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.

“It’s amazing how they were together for 71 years and now they are together in heaven,” their family said in a statement after their passing. “What an amazing love story that is.”

Find out more about this love story in the video below.