'˜Soulmates' die just days apart

'I'll not be long behind her '“ she is my soul mate.'

This is one of the last things John King said to his step-daughter after his partner of 36-years passed away.

John, 71, died just eight days after partner Rosalind Lewis, 71.

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Rosalind, who left three daughters behind, died the morning after finally agreeing to marry John.

Her eldest daughter, Julie Lewis, has said the loss of the couple was a “shock” and the family was not “expecting it.”

She said: “He kept asking her to marry him, she always said no and he asked her in hospital and she said yes. So John said he would get a priest the next day and she was dead in the morning. It has been really hard on the family, we have had no time to think or grieve properly yet.”

Rosalind died on January 25, at King’s Mill Hospital from complications of the flu, she also had pulmonary hypertension.

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She was well know for working at Breakers in Worksop where she was not “afraid to break up a fight,” she only stopped working there in March last year.

John died on February 2, at their home on Sycamore Street, Church Warsop. He use to work at Emcol Steelworks.

Julie and her sisters said they called John dad.

She said: “He was really upset when mum passed, but when a doctor came out and visited him he perked up.

“After mum’s death certificate came through he took a turn for the worse.”

The family found John dead at the side of the bed.

She added: “They were both lovely and loud.

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“They enjoyed going to their caravan in Skegness and having fish and chips.”

The couple, who had known each other since childhood and went to the same school, rekindled their relationship in their 30s.

Julie and her partner took Rosalind to Yellow River Disco in Meden Vale where the two spotted each other again.

Rosalind leaves her daughters Julie Lewis, 53, Mary Lewis, 51 from Worksop, and Rosalind Kay, 50 from Shirebrook.

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She also leaves 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

They also loves BBC’s Mrs. Brown’s Boys which they would watch on repeat.

John loved fishing Julie remembers her and her sister sunbathing on the garden and dropping maggots on them.

She said: “He thought it was funny we didn’t, but we laugh about it now.”

The family plan to spread the ashes together when there is a nice day.