A South Carolina couple missing for more than a year and a half has been officially declared dead by a judge as family members established scholarships and planned a memorial in Georgia for the pair.

A judge declared John and Elizabeth Calvert deceased during a hearing in Georgia on Oct. 22, a difficult day for family members, said David White, the missing woman’s brother.

“Whatever has happened to them, you’ve got to put them to rest,” he told The Island Packet of Hilton Head. “We need to turn them over to God.”

The couple’s family has established scholarships in each of their names. A public memorial service has been planned for Nov. 15 at Northside United Methodist Church in Atlanta.

The Calverts, who split their time between a yacht on Hilton Head Island and a home in Atlanta, were last seen March 3, 2008, the day they met with an accountant who kept their books. An employer of Dennis Gerwing has said he embezzled $2.1 million from the couple and seven other companies.

Gerwing bought three heavy weight drop cloths and a box of latex gloves and turned off his cell phone for 12 hours after meeting with his wealthy clients, police said.

Gerwing committed suicide March 11, 2008, the day he was questioned by police about the couple’s disappearance, by slashing his neck and legs with a steak knife. The contents of a suicide note revealed by authorities adds another piece of evidence, suggesting Gerwing played a role in the couple’s disappearance.

“I have acted completely alone in all actions committed,” he wrote in the noted found in an apartment where his body was discovered.

Gerwing also wrote that he knew the risks and thought that “taking myself out of the game is the best way to move everyone as quickly as possible past all events. All anger should be directed towards me.”

He did not mention the Calverts in his note.

Searches on the resort island, its harbor and in Georgia have been fruitless.

Though the couple has been declared dead, Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said his investigation will continue, The Island Packet reported.