Toraze Davis died suddenly on his wedding day. Photo / GoFundMe
Toraze Davis died suddenly on his wedding day. Photo / GoFundMe
An American bride became a widow just minutes after the ceremony on her wedding day, when her husband died suddenly.
Toraze Davis, 48, suffered a fatal blood clot and died suddenly in front of a room full of wedding guests and his wife Johnnie Mae Davis moments after saying “I do”.
According to the New York Post, he died from a “medical event that was not survivable”.
One of his wife’s co-workers told the outlet that it was “the happiest day” of the couple’s lives before tragedy struck.
Monica Miller, who works with Johnnie Mae at a care facility for elderly and differently abled people, said of Toraze that “I could just see the smile on his face and how happy he was”.
“It [was] just his energy. I just knew that he was just - it was a great day for him.”
The Nebraska couple had been married for just minutes when tragedy struck. Photo / GoFundMe
The couple’s parents, children, family and friends were all together on the day.
One wedding guest, Jewel Roberson, told KCCI News that Toraze’s heart “stopped for the first time an hour after the ceremony had begun ... it happened within seconds”.
According to their friends, it’s not the first time tragedy has struck for the couple, as Johnnie Mae had recently lost her father.
A GoFundMe page set up by Miller to help her coworker cover funeral expenses as well as support their children has since raised just over $21,000 (NZ$34,000) as of Monday.
“All our hearts are aching for Mrs. Davis and her children,” Miller wrote on the GoFundMe page.
“We are asking that you donate towards the burial expenses for Toraze and money to help the new bride with their children. As you know, Johnnie Mae always helps others; this is our time to help her. Please pray for her and the Davis family.”
Miller told KCCI, “We really want to stress that we want to be able to take care of her and ... nurture her children and ourselves.
“At ECO Supportive Living, our motto is that we treat our clients like family. Johnnie Mae is a true living example of what that means.
“[She] goes above and beyond for the elderly and disabled population that we serve. I just really want the community and all of us to just support her in the same way that she does on a daily basis.”
Roberson agreed, calling Johnnie Mae a “loving person” who has “dedicated her life to helping others”.
“She’s been widowed and married in a 10-minute span. She’s going to need lawn services. She’s going to need snow removal when the winter comes.”
