And to make the occasion even more poignant, the couple’s joint funeral was held last Wednesday — the day they would have celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.
Daughter Eryn Makinson said the day was bittersweet.
The couple were both keen on amateur dramatics and first met during rehearsals in 1956, for a production of the comedy One Wild Oat by Vernon Sylvaine, at the Hamilton Playbox Repertory Society, she said.
"Mum was born and brought up in Hamilton, and my father was born in Wellington and he was a railways engineer.
"He was sent to Hamilton to work and it was there that they met."
They were married in 1958.
The duo were as different as two people could be, Ms Makinson said.
"They were almost polar-opposites.
"My dad was very tall, very organised, very methodical, always on time, very tidy, mathematically-minded and quiet — he didn’t talk much.
"My mum was quite short, very gregarious, very social, talked a lot and she was always late."
Despite their contrasting personalities, there was surprisingly little marital tension in the house, she said.
"From my point of view, they were very, very different people, but they made it work because they loved each other."
In 1972, Mr Makinson became the railways district engineer for Otago Southland, and the couple moved to Dunedin.
They seldom spent time apart, Ms Makinson said.
"They were always interested in music and theatre, so they went to a lot of shows together.
"My father was a member of the Royal Dunedin Male Choir for a long time and my mum always went to his concerts.
"Mum did a lot of community work, and everything she did, Dad was the support behind it.
"She did a weekly lunch for the deaf community for years. She cooked and catered, and dad was the driver and did the dishes and things like that."
They also did a lot of work together for their church, a care and craft group and Meals on Wheels.
Last year, Mrs Makinson was diagnosed with cancer, and last month was admitted to Dunedin Hospital with pneumonia.
"She was going downhill in hospital and she told us she wanted to go home to spend her last days with Dad."
In the meantime, while Mrs Makinson was in hospital, Mr Makinson also started to deteriorate.
"Mum had looked after him really well — looked after his diabetes — but the stress of her being sick and being lonely without her, he just stopped eating and drinking.
"Mum and dad had their last couple of days together. It was very peaceful for them.
"Neither of them wanted to be without the other.
"It’s sad they’re gone, but I couldn’t think of a nicer way to go."
