EDINA, Minn. (WCCO) -- A 74-year-old woman was killed and her 75-year-old husband was injured after a fire destroyed the couple's Edina home early Tuesday morning.

The fire started just after midnight on the 7200 block of Lanham Lane, at Anita and Duane Delegard's home -- a home they lived in for more than 30 years and raised three sons.

Duane Delegard was inside the home when the fire started but was able to jump out of a window to escape the flames. He was taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and was later released.

Around 12:30 a.m., Mark Gaasedelen said his neighbor, Duane, came over to his house frantic, covered in soot.

Gaasedelen said  Duane had crawled out of a second-story window to get out of the burning house. He was not able to get to his wife, Anita.

Firefighters searched through the morning and later found her remains. They think she was in the basement of the house when the fire began.

Anita died less than two weeks before the couple would have celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary.

Assistant Chief Darrell Todd said the home was engulfed when firefighters arrived and it was too hot for firefighters to enter the house.

Todd said the snow also made it difficult for crews to fight the fire because they had to trudge through 2-to-3 feet of snow to get around the house.

Crews from six different fire departments helped put out the fire.

Neighbors and relatives remember Anita as a night owl, who loved to stay up late working on projects including those pertaining to her proud Norwegian heritage.

"Very nice, wonderful," said Susan Johnson. "It is just awful and I feel so bad for Duane. It's got to be awful."

WCCO-TV's Caroline Lowe Reports