SAEDNEWS: A couple who were deeply in love throughout their lives became famous after death for their unusual tombstones.
According to Saed News, husbands and wives are often lifelong companions, and many become so dependent on each other over the years that they wish to be buried close together after death. However, according to certain traditions, if a husband and wife belong to different religious groups, they are not allowed to be interred in the same tomb.
Graves tells the story of a Catholic woman and her Protestant husband who were not permitted to be buried together. In the Protestant section of the cemetery, Van Gorcum, a Dutch cavalry colonel and high-ranking government official, was laid to rest, while his wife was buried in the Catholic churchyard.
The couple had married in 1842—she was 22, he 33, a Protestant and part of the aristocracy. Their life together was harmonious until their deaths became the subject of public attention. Because of specific laws, they were not allowed to be buried next to each other, which caused distress for Mrs. Graves. Her decisions afterward stirred quite a commotion in the city of Roermond.
Determined to remain close to her husband even after death, she arranged for her burial in a way that complied with the law while placing her as near as possible to him.
After 38 years of marriage, the colonel passed away in 1880 and was buried on the Protestant side of the cemetery, adjacent to the wall. His wife died in 1888 and chose not to be interred in the family tomb. Instead, she was buried on the opposite side of the wall, as close as legally possible to her husband—separated only by a single wall.
