A couple that was married for 75 years died in the Northern California wildfires http://ift.tt/2ydQP8q

http://ift.tt/2ydQP8q A couple that was married for 75 years died in the Northern California wildfires

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AP

At least 23 people have been killed by wildfires still raging in Northern California. Two of them were Charles and Sara Rippey, according to ABC News, who had been married for 75 years. 

Charles, also known as Peach, 100, and Sara, 98, died when flames engulfed their home, according to ABC News. The fire apparently happened too quickly for them to evacuate, their son Mike said. Sara "was paralyzed, she had a stroke about five years ago" so escaping was impossible, he said. 

"And my father was sleeping in a different room, and we found him halfway to her room. And so he never made it to her room," Mike told ABC News. "But even if he had made it, there was no way he was gonna leave her. So neither one of them was getting out."

The pair met as children in Wisconsin, according to ABC News. They had five children, 12 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren, according to the Napa County Register. Mike said that though their deaths are tragic, that the couple lived a great life. 

"They lived a long life. It was a great life and they were happy right up until the last minute," he told ABC. 

Charles was almost able to make it to his wife’s side before they died, but Mike told ABC News that he died in the hallway. Their grandaughter Ruby Gibney told KTVU that there is only one worse alternative to their deaths. 

"The only thing worse would have been if one survived without the other," she said. 

You can donate to the victims of the Northern California wildfires here. 

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See Also:

• Photos show how wildfires are ravaging parts of California’s wine country
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• Apocalyptic before-and-after photos show how wildfires are destroying parts of California’s wine country

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October 12, 2017 at 11:54AM