92-year-old Boise newlywed mourns loss of his 'better half'; funeral ...

Robert Blurton leans in and kisses his wife Eileen Johnson during the couples wedding ceremony Sunday July 29, 2012 at the Salmon Creek Retirement Community. Blurton, 92, and Johnson, 91, met this spring at the retirement community where they both live.

Chris Butler ? cbutler@idahostatesman.comBuy Photo

They had a whirlwind romance that began in the spring over lunch in the dining room at Salmon Creek retirement community in Boise ? and the pair of 90-year-old lovebirds got married on July 29.

Bob and Eileen Blurton looked forward to spending the rest of their lives together, and they hoped to make it to 100. In July, Bob joked that his bags were packed in the event he fell short.

"We're both ready for the Lord," he said.

Eileen Blurton, 91, passed away late Sunday night. A funeral service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at Cloverdale Funeral Home, 1200 N. Cloverdale Road in Boise, and a memorial service will be held at Salmon Creek at 2 p.m.

Eileen Blurton suffered cardiac arrest at the retirement center Saturday, but paramedics were able to bring her back and get her to the hospital, Salmon Creek retirement center manager Marie Robinson said. An angioplasty was done to open up a blocked artery in her heart, and Bob was optimistic that he'd bring her home on Monday. But she suffered a fatal heart attack late Sunday.

The couple's union was celebrated from coast-to-coast. TV show host Rachel Maddow sent her best wishes on her show, and a segment on the Blurtons appeared on the debut episode of the The Jeff Probst Show.

The couple did a honeymoon road trip to the California Coast and had planned to travel to Hawaii this fall ? though they recently cancelled the latter trip because of Bob's high blood pressure and "a feeling" that something bad would happen if they went, Robinson said.

The Blurtons' family, friends and fellow residents at the retirement community are in mourning.

"Everybody was in shock," Robinson said. "Everybody has been really warm to Bob, expressing their sympathy and giving him support, and letting him talk about things."

Katy Moeller: 377-6413

Source: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/11/13/2344863/92-year-old-boise-newlywed-mourns.html

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