After 74 years of marriage Alma and Leroy Lewis died on the same day, of different causes.

Leroy always thought he'd outlive his wife, said their daughter, Jean Temple of Kansas. He said longevity ran in the family.

But on Jan. 29, Leroy died after a brief illness at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Alma died at the Hospice Care Center 14 hours later. He was 98; she was 96.

Leroy grew up near Hotchkiss; Alma was from Norwood. The pair met at a dance in Norwood where she worked as a secretary, and Leroy worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps.

While working for the corps in 1933, Leroy helped build Rim Rock Drive through Colorado National Monument.

Leroy served in the 10th Mountain Division during World War II. During his 26-year military career Leroy and his family lived in Korea, Japan, Sweden, Texas, Ohio, Alaska and Colorado.

They settled in Grand Junction around 1975.

The couple had twin girls and another daughter, eight grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Before moving to hospice care, Alma, who had dementia, had been staying at the Aspen Ridge Center.

“He went to see mom every day, sometimes twice before he got sick,” Temple said.

After Alma was told that Leroy had died, she “started shutting down,” Temple said.

“We figured she would,” said Temple's twin Jean Fisher of Grand Junction, who suffered a stroke a day after her mother and father died.