Long Beach couple married 75 years die a day apart

A Long Beach couple whose children described them as “inseparable” died less than 24 hours apart earlier this month.

Helen and Les Brown were sweethearts at Huntington Park High School and eloped in September 1937. They had been married 75 years.

Helen Brown died on July 16, and Les died less than 24 hours later. They were 94 -- and shared the same birthday, Dec. 31, 1918.

Helen was from a working-class family; Les was from a wealthier family. They married against their parents’ wishes, their children said.

The couple moved to Long Beach in 1963 and had three sons.

“Mom had always said that she did not want to see Dad die and she did not want to live apart from him,” the couple’s son Daniel Brown said. “And so, it actually, in a way, worked out well in the sense that Mom passed away first.”

Daniel Brown said their father had actually been in a coma and didn’t know his wife had died.

“There was still a certain sense of inseparability there,” he said.

Helen was a housewife who dabbled in real estate, and Les was a photographer.

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