Michael Posner, 97, and his wife Ruth, 96, sent an email to their “Dear family and friends” on Tuesday, explaining their decision to die together at a Swiss assisted dying clinic
A devoted couple who “couldn’t bear to be apart” have died at a Swiss assisted dying clinic, after sending heartfelt emails to their cherished family members explaining their choice. Their nearest and dearest had no idea of their plans to end their lives.
Neither Michael Posner, 97, nor his wife Ruth, 96, were facing a terminal illness, but they chose to end their lives together, unable to face the thought of existing without one another after 75 years of marriage. The couple, who resided in Belsize Park in north London, dispatched an email to their “Dear family and friends” on Tuesday, revealing their passing.
The email read: “So sorry not to have mentioned it but when you receive this email we will have ‘shuffled off this mortal coil’. The decision was mutual and without any outside pressure.
“We had lived a long life and together for almost 75 years. There came a point when failing senses, of sight and hearing and lack of energy was not living but existing that no care would improve,” reports the Manchester Evening News.
“We had an interesting and varied life and except for the sorrow of losing Jeremy, our son. We enjoyed our time together, we tried not to regret the past, live in the present and not to expect too much from the future. Much love Ruth and Mike.”
Ruth, a Holocaust survivor, was honoured in a statement released by the Campaign Against Antisemitism on Thursday. It read: “We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Ruth Posner BEM, Holocaust survivor and educator, and her husband Michael.
“Thank you, Ruth. You were an inspiration and a shining example of how to use one’s voice for good in this world. You will be greatly missed. May their memories be a blessing.”
Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive of The Holocaust Educational Trust, expressed: “Ruth was an extraordinary woman. She survived the Radom Ghetto, slave labour and life in hiding under a false identity. By the end of the war, Ruth and her aunt were the only surviving members of her family.
“After a dazzling career in theatre and dance, Ruth decided to begin sharing her testimony as a response to rising levels of antisemitism in the UK. Although then in her eighties, she made it her mission to speak to as many young people as possible about her experiences during the Holocaust.
“She hoped that the leaders of tomorrow would learn the lessons of the past. Ruth was one of a kind. Full of charisma and warmth, she left an impression on everyone she met. We will miss her.”
Ms Posner managed to escape to Britain at the age of 16 using counterfeit papers to flee the Warsaw ghetto. During the three years she spent evading capture, she disguised herself as a Catholic schoolgirl while the rest of her family perished at the Treblinka extermination camp.
Upon reaching Britain, despite not being able to speak English, she pursued a career in dance by joining the London Contemporary Dance Theatre. After studying theatre arts at Hunter College in New York, she secured a position with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Ruth is celebrated for her roles in a range of productions, including Leon The Pig Farmer and Love Hurts, and has also made appearances in Casualty and The Ruth Rendell Mysteries.
In 1950, she tied the knot with British citizen Michael, and their life was brimming with global escapades owing to his career as a chemist.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
#Brit #couple #write #family #heartbreaking #email #dying #Swiss #clinic
