How old was your dad when he died?

My dad was a very fit and active man. Died just after his 90th birthday. He was only in hospital for about a fortnight. My mum, who was much younger than him anyway died at 69 from ovarian cancer. I think dad lost the will to live after my mum died - she had looked after him so well. When he was in hospital I was constantly mistaken for his granddaughter!!!

I was thinking of him today, coincidentally, during the two minutes silence - he served in the Merchant Navy during the Second World War and was on the Atlantic Convoys to Russia.

At 81 life expectancy for a man in the UK is 89. That means 50 % of 81 year old men will live to 89 or older. Your Dad has had a long and hopefully happy life.

We all have to die at some point. There's no point worrying about it because you can't change it. Dad died at 71 after a few years of ill heath due to cancer. It does mean I remember him as a fit and healthy man in his 60s rather than how I remember FIL who died at 84 after a long decline.

My granddads were late 50s and 88. Their wives were 84 and 78 respectively. My mum was 73 when she died, my dad still going strong at 76.

My mil is desperately ill and recieving eol care at 76, fil fit as a fiddle at 81.

Old nowadays is very different to old when I was a kid - I always always thought my grandparents were very elderly but nowadays my parents and in-laws have such a zest for life and have been living it.

68, much too young.

92

75 - out of the blue, just dropped dead in the street.

My Dad was early 80s. He had some underlying health issues and my parents made their lives incredibly small for the last 5+ years (basically since Covid) to avoid doing anything that might exacerbate his illness and putting off things they wanted to do as they were hoping that being so careful would mean one day his health would improve. For the last few years when Dad would actually have been fit enough to do some fun things they barely left the house and spent a lot of time complaining about other people 'acting irresponsibly' (eg friends of a similar age going to the theatre, going overseas on holiday, 'wasting money' eating in nice restaurants' etc). My advice would be to encourage your Dad to make the most of now and do things he loves even if that means he needs a few days to rest afterwards, or taking a slight risk.

Suddenly, two weeks before his 90th birthday.

My dad died at 62 of a burst iorta.

My dad was 44. Too young.

74. He had a longstanding illness but died unexpectedly of something completely unrelated.

85, he died of cancer, but had been very fit until about 83.

My lovely Dad was 84, he had COPD but was very active and well until he was about 80.

75

Both parents died when I was young. ☹️

My dad was 79, he’d been increasingly poorly for the last 10 years of his life. My mum recently died aged 95, the last few years were terrible with increasingly poor health, but I find that age extraordinary, her mum and both grandmothers were all around 85, so all the women were long lived.

65, Heart Attack. Mum was 77 with COPD and Alzheimer's

Mine was 88 but he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at 72. So cruel as he was an active, non smoking non drinking chap who deserved a long and healthy retirement. He developed Parkinson’s related dementia so the last 5 or 6 years of his life weren’t the best in terms of quality.

68 (Prostate cancer) far too young 😢

My mother was 39 and my father was 66.

I'm never surprised when people die in their 80s, it doesn't seem premature, both my parents died in their 80s, both quite suddenly and both in reasonable health

79, oesophageal cancer. I miss him so much

88
He had been saying he was dying for over 30 years by that point.

87, he was fairly well for his age.

47

So 80 plus is good going.