Heartbreaking ... Livia passed away one hour after her husband Giuseppe died. Picture: Nicholas F Cognetta Funeral Home Source: Supplied

Giuseppe and Livia Fortuna fell in love in Rome, married during WWII and moved to America in the 1960s where they raised four children.

But after 69 years of marriage, Mr Fortuna passed away a week ago, aged 91.

His beloved wife, 86, died less than an hour after him. Her children say she died from a broken heart.

“My mother was in shock to hear that my father had just died. She couldn’t breathe and she was having a fit, even though she was on oxygen,” the couple’s daughter, Giuliana DiGeronimo, told The Stamford Advocate.

“At the nursing home (in Connecticut), everyone said they were angels. Everybody used to say how much they loved each other and how my father was always trying to help my mother.’

The couple’s other daughter, Angela Munzenmaier, was the one to break the sad news to her mother.

Happy couple ... Livia and Giuseppe Fortuna at a family wedding in 1972. Picture: Family handout Source: Supplied

“They yelled and screamed at each other almost every day, but I think it was because they liked making up so much,” Ms Munzenmaier said.

“My mum was feisty. She wouldn’t let my father get away with anything.”

The Fortunas met in Rome and married in 1945 when Livia was 16. They moved to Tuscany where they opened a bar and restaurant, before starting a new life in the US.

They had four children and worked at the same company.

“They probably couldn’t live without the other. They are in a good place and don’t have to suffer anymore, and they can just be happy,” Ms Munzenmaier, 62, said.

In love... Livia and Giuseppe Fortuna met in Rome and married in June 1945. Picture: Family handout Source: Supplied