THE DOWNES, NOT EVEN DEATH COULD DO THEM APART!

A British man in defiance to the time-tested adage 'till death do us apart', refused to part ways with his cancer-stricken, dying wife. Instead he chose to end his life alongside hers in an assisted suicide clinic in Zurich Switzerland? Icheoku says, what a show of love and affection that a healthy man, so enamoured with his wife, elected to be killed just to be with her as she lay dying? The only other time in recorded history, someone so loved another that he yielded a life, was the story of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose father gave up for our sake? Both stories are anchored on boundless love!

Married for 54 years, during which period their love became so ingrained in their body-gnome that the thought of one living without the other was a no brainier; simply put, they could not exist independent of each other that they decided to die together on July 10, 2009. Sir Edward Downes, 85 and Joan Downes, 74 died by drinking poison, at a Dignitas, Zurich assisted-suicide clinic! They drank some clear liquid and died holding each other with their two adult children watching and saying their goodbyes. Joan had been diagnosed with inoperable terminal cancer and Edward facing a future without his beloved wife, decided to end his own life, alongside. A tale of Romeo and Juliet, one would say but this R&J had been together for over one half of a century!

Edward was a renowned conductor, who had a long fruitful career, conducting almost 1,000 performances of 49 different operas over a period of more than 50 years with the Royal Opera House. He also had long years of association with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, where he became principal conductor and later conductor emeritus. In the 1970s, he became music director of the Australian Opera, conducting the first performance at the iconic Sydney Opera House in 1973. Sir Edward received a CBE in 1986 and was knighted by the Queen in 1991. He recently became blind and deaf, relying on his wife for most of his support. Joan Downes, a former ballet dancer, choreographer and television producer, had devoted years working as Edward's assistant, and was recently diagnosed with cancer of the liver and pancreas, and given only weeks to live.

Established in 1998, Dignitas provides their clients a room and board where they serve them with a lethal drink of barbiturates. In just five minutes, they go to sleep from which they never wake up again and forever. Sounds like a lethal injection? It depends on who you ask?

Switzerland charges a miserly 10,000 Swiss Francs ($9000) for this death service? Icheoku asks, why waste such amount of money to end one's life, when a Colt.45 cost less than $300 and with a fifty cent bullet straight to the frontal cranium? Laws which permit people to kill themselves also exist in the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as the United States of America states of Oregon and Washington which permit the incurably sick to obtain help from a doctor to hasten their death.

Edward and Joan Downes are survived by their two children and grandchildren; who said the couple had no religious beliefs and there would be no funeral. According to their children, their parents died "peacefully and under circumstances of their own choosing. They wanted to be next to each other when they died. They held hands across the beds. It is a very civilized way to be able to end your life"!