A Co Down couple married for almost 60 years have died just two days apart.
A joint funeral mass for James (Jim) MacKeever and his wife Anne, who lived in Dromore, heard how they were “inseparable in life and inseparable in death”.
Mr MacKeever, a renowned artist and sculptor, died peacefully at his home on November 19.
His wife Anne, who was originally from Belfast, died two days later “with a broken heart” peacefully at home, a funeral notice said.
It also said they were “loving parents of Sarah and Ruan, and beloved grandparents to Perrie, Maisie, Ellsie and Ruby”.
Family and friends gathered at St Colman’s Parish Church on Monday to remember the devoted couple, who had been married since 1967 after meeting at a dance.
The funeral service, the Belfast Telegraph reported, heard a tribute from Fr Feidhlimidh Magennis who said the couple’s deaths were “a double loss” for their family and friends.
“We gather to celebrate a long life lived together, a life summed up by their coming together here today,” he said.
“Death did not part them.
“They lived together with a sense of beauty and value about the world around them.
“To walk into their home was to walk into a treasure trove of items that reflected the life they lived together, paintings, sculpture, so many pieces from the natural world.
Mac Keever (Dromore) James (Jim) R.I.P died 19th November 2024 peacefully at his home. With a broken heart his wife Anne...
Posted by Charles Digney and Sons Funeral Directors on Thursday 21 November 2024
“They were able to gaze across the Lagan Valley from their home on Ballymacormick Road. It gave them a long and varied life together with lots of interests, many delights and lots of memories.
“For many this will be seen as a tragedy, a double loss, a blow for family and friends.
“But it is a sign that death cannot separate us, cannot end our love for one another.
“As they were inseparable in life, they are inseparable in death.”
