Heartbreaking story behind "inseparable" couple found dead yards away from each other just before 60th wedding anniversary

An inseparable couple who were found dead in their
home just feet apart 'couldn’t survive without one
another,' devastated relatives revealed.
Rowland Hilton, 82, took his own life after wife Mary,
79, died from her longstanding lung cancer battle.
Their family and friends have now paid tribute to the
devoted couple who died shortly before their 60th
wedding anniversary.
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They were discovered on May 3 in the summerhouse
of their Ainsdale, Merseyside home after their family
solicitor received a suicide letter from the Hiltons,
stating their intention to end their lives.
Mary was lying on the floor, while Rowland was
"slumped on the sofa" having suffocated himself, an
inquest in to their deaths heard yesterday.
One relative told the Liverpool Echo : "They did
everything together. They grew up together in
Duckenfield, Manchester, but moved to Merseyside.
"Their two mums were friends, which led to Rowland
and Mary becoming teenage sweethearts."
Lawyer Tony Burns said the couple, who were regular
church-goers, were soon to mark 60 years together.
The relative said: "They absolutely did everything
together - one would have not been able to survive
without the other. The church was their family.
"All their church friends would have been shocked by
what happened, but that was the choice they made
together.
"They had planned to commit suicide, but they also
loved life. Mary had a lovely singing voice and was
part of the BBC choir.
"They were an absolutely lovely couple and we were
all upset as their deaths came as a shock."
Eddie Bairstow, the Hilton’s nextdoor neighbour, who
visited them once a week, was the last person to see
the couple alive.
He said: "Mary was looking very ill the last time I saw
them, which was the week before their deaths.
"Rowland was very healthy. Mary came through to
see us, and Rowland and me just had a bit of a
natter. There was no suggestion of anything wrong, or
what they were planning to do."
Rowland was a model boat enthusiast. Sefton
Coroner’s Court was told there were no suspicious
circumstances behind their deaths, and no third party
involvement.
Mr Bairstow added: "Rowland was a great organiser. I
saw him on the Thursday, then he’ll have written the
{suicide} letter dated the Saturday, he’ll have caught
the last post, and with it being the May Bank Holiday,
it was first seen on the Wednesday.
"They liked their garden, and they would go on holiday
together.
"Rowland, who wore a tie every day, and a bow tie on
Sundays, was always very well prepared.
"He’d even had a letter posted to my wife and I when
we moved in, three years ago, introducing themselves.
"They were a really nice couple, and nice neighbours."
On September 15, a post mortem examination report
was prepared giving Mrs Hilton’s cause of death as
bronchial pneumonia, as a result of a malignant
mesothelioma.
Mr Hilton had died from asphyxia, coroner Christopher
Sumner was told, with raised levels of psycho-active
drug Temazepam.
The discovery of their bodies was made by a police
constable from Merseyside Police, who noted that the
curtains of the summerhouse were closed, and the
doors were closed, but unlocked.
Mrs Hilton’s death was given a verdict of natural
causes.
Her husband committed suicide, said coroner Sumner,
and he added: "I have no doubt whatsoever that Mr
Hilton intended to take his own life."

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