Wife Was Planning Her Husband’s Funeral When She Was Found Dead. Family Believes She Died of a ‘Broken Heart’

An Alabama couple passed away unexpectedly just two days apart earlier this month, leaving their family heartbroken.

“If there is any solace, it’s knowing neither of them are in pain anymore and they’re together,” Joey Prusha tells PEOPLE about his late brother and sister-in-law, Johnny and Tammy Schmidthorst.

“But,” he adds, “it’s still incredibly hard.”

On Saturday, Aug. 16, Johnny, 48, suffered a sudden massive heart attack at the couple’s home in Prattville, according to Prusha, 43.

“Tammy tried to give him CPR,” he says, “and then the medics arrived and worked on him.”

Prusha says he spent time with Tammy, 53, the following day, Sunday, Aug. 17, helping plan Johnny’s funeral.

“Tammy picked out his casket,” Prusha recalls. “She picked out the song.”

“You could just see the pain in her eyes,” he adds. “She was devastated.”

On Monday, Aug. 18, Tammy was scheduled to deliver Johnny’s clothes to the funeral home, but by early afternoon, she hadn’t shown up and nobody could reach her. A relative went to check on her and found her deceased in the couple’s bedroom. Prusha says foul play is not suspected, and no official cause of death has been determined.

“I have not heard anything about the autopsy results,” Prusha says. “But as corny as it may sound, I genuinely think she had a broken heart.”

The Prattville Police Department confirmed her death is under investigation pending a toxicology report.

Johnny, who ran a moving business, and Tammy, a hospital employee, had been together for roughly 20 years, according to Prusha. “They always tried to help people and be good to people,” he says. “They were good, wholesome people.”

As his oldest brother, Johnny “was always there for me,” Prusha recalls. “He was my mentor. He always had excellent grades, top of his class in so many things, and he was a phenomenal athlete.”

“We still talked every single day, sometimes multiple times a day. We were extremely close,” he adds.

The couple leave behind three children from previous relationships — Johnny’s sons Landon and Triston, and Tammy’s son Tony — along with six grandchildren. “Johnny’s sons are just starting their lives,” Prusha says. “His youngest son just got married back in April.”

Family members have set up a GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses, scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 26, in Millbrook.

“We’re trying to give them a proper service and burial,” he says of the husband and wife, neither of whom had life insurance.

As for how he hopes his brother and sister-in-law are remembered, Prusha emphasizes their lives over their deaths.

“They were genuinely good people with a servant’s heart who loved helping others,” he says. “It’s just very tragic. We lost them within two days of each other. It’s just a tragedy.”