Obituaries

[pache100]

I love hearing about people's lives. It reminds us that people are so much more than just an obituary we read in the newspaper. :spin

Speaking of that (I didn't want to hijack Summers' lovely thread, but)...

Did anyone read in the paper about Susie Rosenkranz, the 94 yr old woman and George Rosenkranz, the 75 yr old man (mother and son) who died this week? The mother died at 6:50 AM on Tuesday, and the son died at 7:39 AM. We thought this was so weird (my Mom is a big obituary reader) and wondered what the circumstances were that they died so close together. There was an article in the paper this morning about them; the mother had cancer (I think) and the son had come here from California to be her caretaker. When she died on Tuesday, he had a massive heart attack and died himself. So sad for the family to have to deal with two deaths at the same time.

Has anyone ever wondered how many people in families die close together like this? In wandering around the National Cemetery at Ft Sam Houston (my Dad is buried there), it's amazing to see how many couples die within days/weeks/months of each other.

Sorry if this is morbid, but stuff like this fascinates me, and I was just wondering if anyone else thinks about this stuff.

[travis2]

My grandparents died 36 hours apart.

[2Blonde]

My ex-husband's parent's died 8 weeks apart after 40 years of marriage. His father died of emphysema and then his mother died of a heart attack after she fell asleep in her Lazy Boy. She was lost without him.

And a friend of mine just lost her father three weeks ago to cancer and her brother died of cancer yesterday. Her brother was diagnosed two weeks after her dad but they never told her father about it. Her brother was only 39. The saddest part is that the father left the mother with no insurance or income and she was a homemaker. So now she has lost her husband, son and her house all in one month.

[pache100]

I guess one of the reasons this interests me so much is how close we came to losing both my parents within weeks of each other. My Mom had surgery for her lung cancer in early June and my Dad already knew he had bladder cancer and was having some procedures done to see how bad it was. Even though he was already sick, he took such good care of my Mom when she came home from the hospital. She wasn't physically able to be at the hospital all the time when he went at the beginning of August, but she was there as much as possible. I have always thought she got well from sheer will because she didn't want the three of us to lose both of them so close together. She had already survived breast cancer twice, but my Dad had never been sick a day in his life (even though he was diabetic, he was very healthy; he walked 6 miles a day until he went into the hospital for his surgery). That woman has a will of iron.

My Dad died the day before my Mom's 71st birthday.

[Sunshine]

My grandparents died close together...not THAT close together, but less than six months apart. And they both died w/in a year of when my mother, their daughter, died.

My grandparents shared a room at the nursing home they lived in and had been married 65 years. My granddad died in February, then my grandmother in August. Everytime we'd go visit her after he died, she always asked where he was...or did we know when he'd be home from work (he hadn't worked in over 20 years!). The last time I saw her before she died, she didn't ask where he was...she said to me "I'm going to see Papa soon....he said he's been waiting for me." She talked the whole time about how he said he missed her cooking, especially her plum jelly and canned peaches. When we left, I told my sisters that I bet she didn't last another week, and sure enough, 2 days later, my aunt called to tell us she'd died during the night.

[pache100]

That's a great story, Sunshine. I'm glad you got to have that time with your grandmother at the end.

I was the only one of us kids who saw my Dad the day he died. He'd been in the hospital for 3 weeks and I'd never gone up there in the mornings except on the weekend. That day, a Friday, I went by on my way to work. I told him I loved him and he told me he loved me too. It was so weird, because we didn't say stuff like that to each other very often. I should have known, but I didn't. Four hours later, he was gone.

[Sunshine]

My dad was in the hospital when he died. He didn't want to come home, because he didn't want to die at home, like my brother had. Even though there weren't any weird associations to my brother dying at home...i.e. we weren't "spooked" to go into his bedroom, etc., I guess my dad just didn't want to put us through that again.

He'd been in the hospital about 3 weeks when he died and we were all taking turns visiting/staying up there. My mom wanted to go to work everyday...said it kept things normal and she didn't dwell on the fact that her husband was dying...none of us ever spent the night up there, even though there was a bed for us if we chose to do so. On the night he died, my mom went home as usual at 9. She went home, got ready for bed, etc., but just couldn't get to sleep. She felt an inexplicable urge to go back up there. Around midnight, she got up, got dressed and went back up to the hospital.

She woke him up, told him she was there then got into her bed. She kept the curtain opened a little so she could (these were her words) "see the sheet move up and down with his breathing." She drifted off to sleep, then woke up, looked over and the sheet wasn't "moving up and down" anymore.

She was comforted by the fact that he must have gone peacefully, otherwise she would have heard him struggling, or calling out.

It was just weird the way she was compelled to go back up there, even though for three weeks, she hadn't stayed over night with him.

[SpursWoman]

My Dad died the day before my Mom's 71st birthday.


My grandpa died the day before he & my grandmother's 50th wedding anniversary ... we'd had a huge party planned. :depressed

[pache100]

My grandpa died the day before he & my grandmother's 50th wedding anniversary ... we'd had a huge party planned. :depressed

We always go to the cemetery at Ft. Sam on the evening of 22 August now and put flowers on my Dad's grave.

And, then, my sister and I both take off work on the 23rd and we do something special with my Mom for her birthday. We want her birthday to be completely separate and apart from any associations to the day my Dad died.

[SpursWoman]

We always go to the cemetery at Ft. Sam on the evening of 22 August now and put flowers on my Dad's grave.


That's where my dad is. My mom is in an urn in my living room, we're supposed to go to the coast and scatter them at some point, but I really don't want to...you know? :fro

[2Blonde]

That's where my dad is. My mom is in an urn in my living room, we're supposed to go to the coast and scatter them at some point, but I really don't want to...you know? :fro
When my husband passes away he wants part of his ashes scattered in a sand trap :lol and the rest are going here...
http://www.lifegem.com/

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I read an obituary once about this guy who died in his sleep in his early 80's after a weekend camping trip in which he'd been rock climbing and white water rafting.

This guy went everywhere, did every outdoor sport imaginable, explored the world.

It sounded like he was in perfect health until he suddenly died in his sleep.

The obit was awesome, and he seemed to have had a great life with lots of family and friends. People were asked to wear shorts and Hawaiian shirts to his wake and bring their favorite story along with their favorite wine or beverage to what sounded more like a party invite than a funeral.

I thought, "how great is that?" I want to go out the same way. No crying, no regrets. Just people remembering what a great guy I was (hopefully) and toasting me with their favorite beverage.

So remember that people! :lol

[SpursWoman]

When my husband passes away he wants part of his ashes scattered in a sand trap :lol and the rest are going here...
http://www.lifegem.com/


User wants to be cremated and his ashes scattered into 100's of cans of paint ... so he can be a fly on eveyone's walls I think.

:lol

[2Blonde]

User wants to be cremated and his ashes scattered into 100's of cans of paint ... so he can be a fly on eveyone's walls I think.

:lol
:lol Now that's one I've never heard.

[SpursWoman]

His dad owned a paint store for many, many years ... that's where I assume he was inspired. :lol

[Sunshine]

My friend's husband wants the hearse carrying his coffin to be LAST in the procession. His reason? He's never been on time to anything in his life, why be first/on time in death. :lol

[ElMuerto]

I read them religiously.

[Vashner]

Just few weeks ago. 8 grandchildren died and when told the news the Grandfather dropped dead.