Ex-NFL player Flutie says parents died of heart attacks within an hour of each other this morning

Former NFL player Doug Flutie wrote on Facebook that both of his parents had died of heart attacks within an hour of each other Wednesday morning.

“This morning my family experienced the tragic loss of my father, Dick and mother, Joan,” Flutie wrote. “My Dad had been ill and died of a heart attack in the hospital and my Mom, less than an hour later had a sudden heart attack and passed away.”

Flutie said his parents had been married for 56 years.

Flutie played for the Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots during an NFL career that begain in 1986 and ended for good in 2005. From 1990-1997, he played in the Canadian Football League.

He made the Pro Bowl and was name Comeback Player of the  Year in 1998, when he returned to the NFL after winning three Grey Cups in the CFL.

“They say you can die of a broken heart and I believe it,” Flutie wrote.