A Mississippi family is grieving after a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother died when she and her husband collapsed in their garden during dangerous summer heat.
Martha “Irene” Van Egmond, 83, was outside Saturday with her husband, Rick Van Egmond, 79, when she fell in a flowerbed and could not get back up.
Rick tried to help his wife, but he also fell. The couple was left trapped on the ground for hours as the heat became unbearable.
“It gets hot out there, and if you don’t have a way to get up, it can happen quick,” Rick told WJTV.
He said they were outside for about three hours before two men from a nearby apartment building heard him calling for help.
“Two kind men from the apartments behind us finally heard me call and came to assist but it was too late,” Rick wrote on social media.
By the time help arrived, Irene had died.
“She died in one of her happy places, a flowerbed,” her heartbroken husband wrote.
Hinds County Coroner Jeramiah Howard said Irene is believed to have died from heat exposure, according to WJTV.
Mississippi was under brutal summer conditions over the weekend, with temperatures in the 90s and the heat index climbing above 100 degrees in some areas.
Rick said his wife had been ready to go to church the next day.
“We were out there about three hours, and she was ready to go to church Sunday,” he said. “I’m going to miss her tremendously, but the Lord’s going to take care of me.”
The couple shared seven children and spent years traveling across all 50 states together while attending toy shows.
Rick described Irene as a loving woman of faith who cared deeply for her family and community.
“She was such a wonderful, wonderful, dear person,” he said.
He also said their marriage was built on love, patience and faith.
“I loved everything about her. We never argued,” Rick said. “We decided among us that there’s nothing worth arguing about. It’s not important. Just love one another, love the Lord and take care of one another.”
He said Irene lived that way every day.
“She loved me. She took care of me,” he said.
Rick said he wants people to remember his wife for her love of Jesus, saying others “saw Jesus in her every time they saw her.”
Friends, church members and local businesses have also shared tributes to Irene.
One church member wrote that the church “will not be the same without Miss Irene,” calling her “one of a kind” and a “precious soul.”
Friends & Co Salon and Boutique also honored her, saying she had become “so much more than a customer” over the years.
“She became a dear friend, a kind soul, and a cherished part of our family,” the salon wrote. “Her kindness, warm smile, and the conversations we shared will be missed more than words can express.”
Irene’s funeral is set for Thursday, when loved ones will gather to celebrate the life of a woman remembered for her faith, kindness and devotion to her family.
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