Couple Buried Together In Love
07-28-1994 Times Picayune

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After 59 years of marriage, Darrell and Connie Blalock never
wanted to be separated - not even in death.

Darrell and Connie Blalock died three days apart, and were
buried together this week in a family cemetery in Liberty.

The funeral for Connie Blalock, who died Friday, was about to
start Monday when family members learned that Darrell Blalock
had died at a local hospital.

"This was in God's hands. This all came about for a reason,"
said Naydean Duck, one of the couple's daughters. "They had
never been separated in life and He didn't want to separate
them."

Connie Blalock's funeral was delayed several hours, and a
double-casket service was held for the couple. Family members
called it a fitting end for the couple.

"We just feel like they wanted to go together," said Norma
Knight, another daughter.

Mrs. Blalock had undergone surgery at Southwest Mississippi
Regional Medical Center for a broken hip last week when a fatal
heart attack struck. Blalock had been seriously ill at Southwest
with longstanding lung and kidney ailments.

After Mrs. Blalock's death, family members agreed to tell
Blalock.

"Daddy cried a little while about it, and he said, 'I'm happy.'
He said he was ready to go meet her," Knight said. "He asked us
if it was all right with us. We told him it was fine if he could
go and meet her.

"He prayed a real special prayer to his father in heaven to help
him, and he just gave up then. He didn't respond to us hardly
for just a few more hours."

Blalock died Monday about 1:25 p.m., 35 minutes before the
funeral for his wife was scheduled to begin. Family members
agreed to postpone the funeral so the couple could be buried
together.

"It was a special thing to us the way they got to go," Knight
said. "Mama knew Daddy was dying. We didn't tell her that, she
just knew it."