In August, TV presenter Phil Spencer's parents, Richard David Edward Spencer, 89, and Anne Spencer, 82, tragically died in a car crash on their family farm near Canterbury, Kent.
An inquest into Richard Spencer's death revealed that he died from aspiration pneumonitis, a lung injury, following the car accident in which their vehicle overturned into a river. Despite being rushed to the hospital, Richard Spencer never regained consciousness.
Phil Spencer shared the heartbreaking news on Instagram, paying tribute to his parents and revealing that they had both been on "extremely good form" before the accident, despite his mother's Parkinson's diagnosis and his father's dementia.
He explained that his parents had probably "gone together" as his mother had resigned herself to that possibility. The car had overturned into the river while traveling very slowly, and Phil believes that his parents "quietly slipped away" while holding hands underwater.
The couple, married for nearly 60 years, had dedicated themselves to village life and were devoted supporters of Littlebourne's St Vincent's Church. Richard Spencer was living with dementia, and Anne suffered from mild Parkinson's disease.