CRANBERRY TWP — A township couple died of carbon monoxide poisoning Friday afternoon.

The bodies of Walter, 93, and Lucille, 89, Mullenax of 1016 N. Boundary Road were discovered by a caretaker, according to Butler County Chief Deputy Coroner John Hanovick.

Hanovick said he pronounced the couple dead at the scene at 4:30 p.m.

Hanovick said the couple’s vehicle ran unattended in the basement-level garage. He ruled the deaths an accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.

“The car was still running, when police got there,” Hanovick said, who arrived after the vehicle had been turned off by police. “They’re older people. It just happened.”

Hanovick said the body of Lucille Mullenax, who retired from the cafeteria at Rowan Elementary School in the Seneca Valley School District, was found in the upstairs hallway.

Walter Mullenax, who retired from Jones and Laughlin Steel as a boiler attendant, was found in a chair in the living room. Walter Mullenax also served in the military during World War II.

Lucille Mullenax’s brother and next-door neighbor Robert Steele, 85, said the couple were “big-hearted.”

“We always took care of each other,” he said.

Steele said Walter Mullenax was a storyteller.

“He told more stories than anybody I ever knew,” he said.

He said they were always ready to help whenever needed. Steele has been living on North Boundary Road for 49 years, about “two or three” years after the Mullenax’s moved there.

“It’s a tough time,” Steele said. “They were both pretty sick.”

Hanovick said he did not see or hear any carbon monoxide detectors. He said no autopsies would be done.

Boylan-Glenn-Kildoo Funeral Home & Cremation Services of Cranberry Township is handling funeral arrangements.

Eagle staff writer Amerigo Allegretto contributed to this report.