NEED TO KNOW

Johnny Schmidthorst, 48, died of a massive heart attack in his Alabama home on Aug. 16, his brother tells PEOPLE

A day after starting to make arrangements for his funeral, his wife Tammy, 53, was found dead in the couple's bedroom

Although her cause of death has not yet been officially determined, Johnny's brother believes it was due to a "broken heart"

An Alabama couple unexpectedly died two days apart earlier this month, which is "just a tragedy" to their grieving family members.

“If there is any solace that makes me feel somewhat better, it's that neither one of them are hurting 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 hard as hell."

On Saturday, Aug. 1

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