Couple holds wedding in hospital room days before father of bride dies

The emergency department at Portsmouth Regional Hospital wasn't the wedding venue that Heather Lindberg and John Spagnola had envisioned, but her father, Dana, was worried he would miss her wedding. (WMUR via CNN Newsource)

HAMPTON, New Hampshire — A Hampton father battling a serious health crisis was able to see his greatest wish come true days before he passed away.

The emergency department at Portsmouth Regional Hospital wasn’t the wedding venue that Heather Lindberg and John Spagnola had envisioned, but her father, Dana, was worried he would miss her wedding.

“I gave him a big hug, and he said to me, ‘I may never get a chance to see you married,’” Heather Lindberg said.

“He even said, ‘I don’t think I’m going home,’” Spagnola said. “In all the times he’d been in the hospital, which was a lot of times in the last few years, he’d never said that.”

So, Heather got to work the next day finding a dress and an officiant, her brother, Nate Lindberg.

“Heather asked me on Sunday night how quickly do you think you’d be able to get a marriage officiant license?” Nate Lindberg said. “On Sunday night, I applied for it, paid the little fee, and I woke up to it in my email the next morning.”

In video of the ceremony, Dana Lindberg can be seen smiling, singing and making jokes.

“It just couldn’t have been more perfect,” Heather Lindberg said.

Two days after the wedding, Dana Lindberg died.

“We left the room that day, and nobody thought in two days he’d be gone,” Spagnola said.

His family said he left happy, knowing that his daughter was married.

Dana Lindberg was 77 years old. His family said services are being held Friday, and a celebration of his life will be held in October, when he would have turned 78.