Helen Auer, from Cincinnati, Ohio, passed away peacefully at home at the age 94. On the night of her death, Joe entered her room, gave her one final kiss goodbye and whispered to her, 'Helen, call me home.'
Only 28 hours later, Helen called him to her.
Joe Auer died five months after celebrating his 100th birthday. The couple's nine surviving children knew their dad could not make it without their mom for more than a night.
The couple survived the Great Depression, lived through World War II, raised 10 children and witnessed the births of their 16 grandchildren, 29 great-grand-kids and one great-great grandchild.
Helen Auer had her first baby, Barry, soon after the wedding and was pregnant with their second child, Judy, by the time Joe shipped out to fight the Nazis in faraway Europe.
Joe Auer had that precious black-and-white picture tucked in his pocket when he landed at Utah Beach on D-Day, and it did not leave his side for the remainder of the war - and for the rest of his life.
'They were simple, humble people. They wanted nothing and got everything in return,' Jerry Auer, 52, said.