Kerala woman dies after collapsing at husband’s funeral

Dubai: A family in Kerala’s Pala is mourning the loss of a husband and wife just days apart.

Kurian Joseph, 73, of Vazhayil in Puthenpallikkunnu, Pala, died on Saturday, according to local media reports. His funeral services were being held at his residence on Monday when his wife, Shirley Kurian, 71, collapsed after giving her husband a final kiss.

Shirley was immediately taken to hospital but could not be revived, reports said. She collapsed shortly before Kurian’s body was due to be taken to the church after the initial funeral prayers at their home.

According to a Mathrubhumi report, relatives said Shirley’s sudden death deepened the family’s grief as preparations began for the final rites of both.

The couple’s deaths have left their three children — Angela Kurian, Anna Kurian and Aby Kurian — and other family members grieving.

Kurian was a businessman from Pala and was also associated with the Kerala Congress steering committee and the advisory committee of the Pala Krishi Bhavan, according to reports. Shirley was from the Pachakavil family in Edathua.

The family is now preparing for the final rites of both. Shirley’s body is expected to be brought to their home, where funeral prayers will be held before the couple are laid to rest together at the cemetery of St George Lalam Puthenpally in Pala.

The tragic sequence has drawn attention because Shirley died while attending the funeral of the man she had shared her life with, just days after his death.