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 does n't believe 'either one of them had the blessings of their parents . ' But that did n'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 could n'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 'did n'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 Doug ' Wilson , 93 , and Lillian Karr Wilson , 89 , were both Alzheimer 's patients and had to live in separate nursing homes . But their son Bill often drove Lillian to see Doug and said he believes they were able to 'read each other ' even when they had trouble communicating . The couple did n'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 '