Vale Maurice and June Toole: Theirs was a story of true love

Teenage sweethearts who spent a lifetime together and, at the end, weren't going to live on without each other.

Maurice and June Toole's love story began at a dance at Coombing Dam near Carcoar, where they met as teens.

All it took was a few dances followed by some trips on Mr Toole's motorbike for the couple to fall in love.

At only 16 and 18 years of age, they married at St Matthew's Anglican Church, Windsor on September 30, 1952.

The couple spent over seven decades loving and "annoying each other", celebrating their 70-year anniversary in Bathurst in 2022.

During this time, they supported each other through hardships and rejoiced together when life was good.

Early on, they lived with both of their parents at different times - Reginald and Mary Toole, and Albert and Dorothy Gillespie - before moving a few times and eventually settling in Neville village.

It was here the couple chose to start a family, having five children: Colleen, Lorraine, Wayne, Kevin and Brenda.

Mrs Toole would often spend weeks alone raising the kids and looking after the house while Mr Toole was away working to provide for the family.

His main job was shearing and he would often have to travel long distances for work, but he also spent time working as a petrol agent who delivered to local and outlying farms, as a wood cutter and a fencer.

But when Mr Toole was home, they enjoyed many family adventures in Neville.

Sunday outings to watch the local Group 10 rugby league competition became a tradition and the family would pack picnic lunches and meet up with their friends.

Every January, Mr Toole would take a month off work and take the family to stay at his sister's weekender on the South Coast.

It was here they created some amazing memories that would last a lifetime.

The couple also loved horse racing, having shares in a number of horses that they'd travel around the Central West to watch compete.

When the children had grown up and finished their schooling, Mr and Mrs Toole moved to Gilmour Street, Kelso, where they lived for 43 years.

As the years went on, the family grew.

They welcomed sons-and-daughters-in-law Tom, Judy, Bev, Steve and Graham into the family, who gave them eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

As new members came, the family trips and reunions grew.

Mr and Mrs Toole loved travelling and spending time with their loved ones, especially at the annual Toole reunion at the Neville Showground, and the yearly cousins weekend in Wollongong.

Mr Toole was one of six children, leaving behind sisters Beryl, Joyce, Aileen, Mary and Robyne.

Mrs Toole's two sisters Merle and Irene died before her.

The couple lived a beautiful, fulfilled life together, and neither one was going to continue on without the other.

After a fall, Mr Toole was in hospital for 10 days. And on his final day, Mrs Toole was taken to hospital and died at 11pm on August 29, 2023.

According to her daughter, Mrs Toole died of a broken heart due to the reality that her her husband would not be coming home and would need to be placed into nursing home respite.

And even though all of Mrs Toole's stats were showing up normal, the loss was too much to bear.

Fewer than six hours later, at 4.30am on August 30, Mr Toole drew his last breath and joined his teenage sweetheart.

Reading this on mobile web? Download our news app. It's faster, easier to read and we'll send you alerts for breaking news as it happens. Download in the Apple Store or Google Play.