Enduring love story: Elderly couple spent final days together at hospice after decades of marriage

For many, love lasts a lifetime. And for this couple, their love truly did.

In a Facebook post on Thursday (Feb 12), Assisi Hospice recounted the enduring love story of a couple who stood by each other through life's ups and downs to the very end, as the world celebrates Valentine's Day on Saturday (Feb 14).

Lai Fa Chong, 84, and his wife Wong Sau Ngo, 81, stuck together through thick and thin, and even in death they were separated by mere months. 

They met more than 20 years ago at a halfway house, where he was sharing his story with the inmates after rebuilding his life following three stints in prison in his late 50s.

Lai was instantly drawn to her gentleness, and with the support and encouragement from friends, the two eventually got married.

They enjoyed 27 years of wedded bliss, expressing their love for each other in simple, but meaningful, ways.

Wong, a seamstress, showed her care by mending Lai's clothes whenever buttons fell off or fabric wore out, while Lai had a way with words when expressing love for the woman in his life.  

"I would always praise her cooking," he said, as quoted by the hospice. "She would be very happy when she heard that. Even after a quarrel, she would talk to me again."

About six years ago, the hospice said, Wong was diagnosed with dementia. Her condition worsened and was no longer able to communicate. She collapsed at home one day, and Lai had to make the difficult decision to move her to a nursing home.

He visited her at the home every day, caring and staying by her side.

"Even though she could no longer speak, her eyes recognised me," said Lai then. 

In May 2025, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and admitted to Assisi Hospice.

Missing his wife deeply, Lai was grateful when the hospice care team arranged a short visit to the nursing home, allowing the couple a brief reunion.

When Wong's condition suddenly deteriorated, she was admitted to the same ward as Lai in the hospice, allowing him to be by her side during her final moments.

Though Lai's body grew weaker, he persevered to say his final goodbye to Wong — from the funeral to the cremation, and the releasing of her ashes at the Garden of Remembrance.

A few months later, he died on Aug 8, 2025, and his ashes were reunited with hers in the same garden.

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xingying.koh@asiaone.com