A couple who had been married for 61 years died just hours apart, as their relatives said it showed how they couldn’t live without one another.

Tommy Greene, 79, was admitted for chest pains on Thursday night and the next night his wife Bea, 78, died after a six-month battle with cancer.

Just hours later, after his relatives told him that Bea had died, he died as well, with doctors saying his cause of death was cardiac arrest.

Together forever: Bea Greene, 78, died from cancer on Friday night and her husband Tommy, 79, died of cardiac arrest just seven hours later

In those seven hours between their two deaths, Tommy was surrounded by some of their five children, eight grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.

The couple’s story- from falling in love as teenagers to their closely-timed deaths- strikes a notable resemblance to The Notebook. One difference: the Greenes lived in North Carolina while the book-turned-film was set in South Carolina.

The Charlotte Observer reports that while in the hospital room, the family sang a song called ‘He’s Walking Her Home’ with a particularly fitting meaning.

The song is about two teenagers who fell in love, raised a family and were married for 60 years before they died around the same time as one another.

Way back: The couple met and married as teenagers and stayed together for 61 years

In the Greene’s case, they were married for 61 years.

With that exception, the lyrics rang true, and Tommy’s relatives knew it.

‘My aunt said, “Daddy, if you want to go walk mama home, it’s fine, we all understand,”‘ granddaughter Courtney Thomas told The Herald.

The couple met and got married when they were just teenagers.

As they stayed together for more than half a century- including Tommy’s time serving in the Army during the Korean War- they also shared in deep religious faith.

Way back: The couple met and married as teenagers and stayed together for 61 years

When Bea, whose real name was Violet, was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer, a friend asked what her husband would do if she died leaving him as a widow.

‘She said, “I don’t know. I guess I’ll just take him with me,”‘ Reverend Dave Kiehn of Park Baptist Church told The Charlotte Observer.

‘And now he gets to stand side-by-side with her for all of eternity.’

Read more: Daily Mail