Hanging on one 93-year-old man's wall at a Kentucky nursing home was a photo collage of him and his wife. It was titled 'Lill & Bill, together forever'. That sentiment came true this week when, after 73 years of marriage, William 'Wild Bill' Wilson and his wife Lillian Karr Wilson died just two minutes apart from each other. Both Lillian, 89, and Bill were Alzheimer's patients and for the last couple of years had to live in separate nursing homes. Lillian resided at Richmond Place in Lexington, while Bill stayed at the Thomson-Hood Veterans Center in Wilmore. After 73 years of marriage, high school sweethearts Doug Wilson, 93, and Lillian Kerr Wilson, 89, passed away just two minutes apart from each other this week . But on Tuesday their connection proved strong as ever when one of their sons, Doug, received a phone call at 3.52am to inform him that his father had passed away. Just five minutes later the phone rang again. Doug said it was his mother's nursing home, calling with the same sad news. 'We all look at it as a blessing,' Doug told the Lexington-Herald Leader, 'because we're going to have one funeral for both of them.' Doug, 66, believes it will also make it easier for the family to grieve. 'We’re looking at it as a celebration of life because they had a great life,' he told the Washington Post. The couple first met in Corbin, where they were both athletes and high school sweethearts. Doug told the Lexington-Herald Leader that his parents ran off to get married and that he doesn't believe 'either one of them had the blessings of their parents.' But that didn't stop the couple, who survived a war and a number of relocations through their long marriage. Bill enlisted in the Army when World War II began. After returning from Germany, he worked and managed various department and retail stores. Doug told the Washington Post that his mother, who he said 'had great taste', could be found working alongside her husband as she designed the showroom windows. The family, which also included Doug's brothers Mike and Terry, hopped around the state and country. There were setbacks along the way. The couple unsuccessfully tried to open a shopping center in Atlanta and then one of Bill's department stores burned down and couldn't reopen after they moved back to Kentucky. The couple first met in Corbin, Kentucky and, according to their son Doug, ran off and got married without either of their parents' blessing. They spent their lives supporting and working alongside each other . But Doug said his parents had a 'driving force' to make sure their three sons received the college education they never got to have. 'They stressed college so much,' Doug said. 'And they were so proud that they had three sons who had college degrees.' And there were successes. After managing a number of stores, Bill decided to open his own realty firm. It grew from an $800 investment into a $1million-dollar company. He would also flip foreclosures, remodeling the houses before putting them back on the market. Meanwhile Lillian would repaint, wallpaper and do the trim work on the homes while Doug did the carpentry work. 'We had a great time rehabbing houses together,' he said. Bill was also known for his long-running morning radio show, where he was known as 'Wild Bill' and would organize a number of promotions and contests, including a twist-dancing competition that was so popular the police had to be brought in. The nickname stuck with Bill long after his radio show ended. He was even called 'Wild Bill' at his nursing home, where he would sometimes reenact his show in the cafeteria. Doug said he regularly drove his mother to see her husband at the Veterans center. He said that, although the couple 'didn't have communication', he believes they were 'reading each other' just by having the chance to see each other. When Doug last saw his father the Sunday before his passing, he said Bill was wearing an oxygen mask and was 'barely hanging on'. To comfort him, Doug recited the opening that Bill used to say for every one of his radio shows. 'I just told him, "This is Wild Bill Wilson, your red-headed, freckle-faced, snaggle-toothed, snuff-dipping buddy"'. 'And underneath the mask there, he grinned real big. He heard it. I was glad of that.' Friends and family will gather on Saturday evening for a 'Celebration of life' service in honor of the devoted couple.
William 'Wild Bill' Wilson, 93, and Lillian Karr Wilson, 89, were both Alzheimer's patients and had to live in separate nursing homes .
But their son Doug often drove Lillian to see Bill and said he believes they were able to 'read each other' even when they had trouble communicating .
The couple didn't have their parents' blessings when they ran off to wed .
But they survived a war and many moves and job changes during marriage .
Their shared funeral service will be a 'celebration of life'