"The crown helps"

After the death of his wife: no money for the funeral

A broken man: almost 80-year-old Otto K. in front of his wife's urn.

(Bild: Christa Blümel)

Otto and Hannelore were married for 41 years, and for five years the Styrian devotedly cared for his wife, who suffered from dementia and later cancer. After her death, the retiree had to beg together the money for her farewell.

When an elderly man sits in front of you and weeps without restraint - it gets under your skin. The tears run down the cheeks of the 79-year-old Styrian. He is broken after the death of his beloved wife. He can no longer see the sun shining on the mini-balcony of his tiny apartment. He can no longer see any light at all.

His eyes only light up briefly when he shows a picture of his wife and tells us how he met her back then. "At the Lonely Hearts Ball! It was love at first sight. We were married for 41 years."

His Hannelore passed away on August 23, just a few days before her 82nd birthday. He had cared for her for five years when she developed dementia. When she, the great love of his life, no longer recognized him, it was heartbreaking for him. "It's me, your husband. I love you so much,' I often told her," he says. Put her in a home, you can't do that, he was advised by worried acquaintances, "but I could never have done that".

The best day: Hannelore and Otto met at the "Lonely Hearts Ball" - and it was love at first sight.

(Bild: zVg)

Then came pancreatic cancer; now Hannelore is dead. And so is her husband inside. He no longer eats much, partly because of the pain he is in. Two weeks ago, he fell on the radiator in the anteroom and broke his ribs - and that too.

He also has extreme money worries. He only receives a pension of 553 euros, and his wife, a former furrier, didn't have much either - you can't save anything when it's barely enough to live on. How desperate Otto K. must have been when he couldn't afford his wife's cremation! 1093 euros were outstanding. He had to scrape it together. "The neighbor lent it to me. I'm so embarrassed." Also because he doesn't know how he can pay the money back.

We can't take away Otto K.'s endless sadness. But his money worries certainly are - because he has the "Krone" family. And they probably won't let him down.

Account: "Die Krone hilft", AT152081500044569523, reference Hannelore.