Old folks dying of,,,,,,old age?

[MrsDeltaB]

Whilst I appreciate there is a general outpouring of someone or the actor of a character that you may have grown up with.

Liz Dawn. Died at 77. Yes. Sad. To her family. But why the outpouring of grief to a person of elder generation who may or may not have simply died of old age?

I can't help but get cross when folks are 'gutted' 'devastated' about the death of an old person dying of, being old! "97 year old died of old age'

A lady that loves up the road from me was 94. She always used to feed stray cats and always said hello to me and my children when we walked by. She was a lovely lady lived with her husband. I didn't see her for a couple of days and saw her daughter. I asked if she was ok and she said she had passed away. Literally went to bed fine and died in her sleep. They said old age because they couldn't find a cause for her death. She was well apart from certain things you'd expect in a 94 year old, weak bones etc. Her organs were fine. Was terribly sad as I said she always made an effort with my children and was lovely to talk to. Her daughter did say though that although she was in shock as her mum was generally fit and well for her age she was glad she just passed peacefully while sleeping.

I guess that at a certain age your body could just shut down naturally. Who knows

Death is sad for those left behind whether the person who died is 1 or 101, those who loved them will grieve for them. I grieved for my sister who died aged 2 and I grieved for my grandmother who died in her late eighties. Both of their deaths affected me greatly but one wasn't more sad than the other, they were equally sad but for different reasons.

I do think our generation will be living until at least 90 on the whole

Unless you are already in your 60s or 70s probably not true as life expectancy is falling for younger generations.

My Nana was 89 and my Aunt 88 when they died, it was old age, but falls and various minor health issues contributed to their deaths.
Liz Dawn at 77 didn't die of old age!
I was saddened by her death but not terribly upset like some were.
However when Prince died I cried buckets for weeks...it's all relative.

Unless you are already in your 60s or 70s probably not true as life expectancy is falling for younger generations

Is it????

Well im not dying til I'm in my late 80's

Fact

Ive seen it a lot on mumsnet

Apparently if you say 'fact' at the end of your post it ends the whole argument and it definitely true

Fact

Both my grandparents died in their sleep in their 90s and their deaths were recorded as natural causes (i.e. old age). My grandad died first and I remember my Gran ringing my mum saying that she couldn't wake my grandad up. It was very sad as she genuinely thought he was just in a very deep sleep. But what a way to go- he literally went to sleep and never woke up. He was 96 and the day before they had both been for a walk and been watching television etc. Neither had ever been to the doctors for more than an ingrowing toenail and an eye infection. Incredible really.

Strangely enough their good health has skipped me by.. I have a chronic autoimmune disorder and a rare adrenal insufficiency!

Yes, it was reported earlier this year. For those 65 and under.

I am not living until my 80s. I like gin and nice food and am not interested in being old and infirm.

What a horrible OP.

For me, anything over 70 is a good innings and, no, not that sad, nice they got so long.

Bloody hell, you don't die of old age at 77

Unless the rules have changed, old age can be given as the cause of death from 70 yoa onwards!

At 62, I find this rather depressing...

of course she died of old age, 77 is a good age and I'm in my 50's

I'm guessing people here shouting how 77 isnt old have never cared for an older parent who is frail and infirm?

sure, some mums will still be active and raring to go at 77 but most will be suffering from ill health in some way, and this affects your quality of life

I dont want to live after 76, I've seen what its like and I dont fancy it.

My father died last year in his 90s. He had Parkinsons, but on his death certificate cause of death was stated as "frailty of old age" as well as Parkinsons.

However, I agree that 77 is not old.

I am 73 and hoping to dodder on for a while yet! I look after my dgc 3 days a week after school and about to fly to Turkey for a little holiday with my 81 year old dh.

The cause of death on my mans death certificate was old age and that was about 20 years ago.

She was nearly 90 and her body as a whole just sort of wore out.

Nans not mans 🙄

When people die it makes other people sad.
Age doesn't come in to it.

It is more tragic when a young life is lost but that doesn't mean we don't mourn our older loved ones.

younger loss is usually much more complicated and therefore the grief can be more complex and harder to deal with.

I haven't seen the thing about younger people having a shorter life expectancy but I would imagine that is more down to lifestyle choices than anything else. Someone who is generally healthy, doesn't smoke, doesn't drink (or drinks in moderation) and retains a healthy weight has a far greater chance of living a healthy and active life until they are in their 90s than ever before due to advances in medicine. Of course if you are 40 and smoking 50 a day, downing 6 pints a night and eating all the pies, then your life may be a bit shorter! But in all these things there are always exceptions.

I don't think 77 is a "good age," it must depend on your experiences.

Mum - 71, works 4 days a week
Fil - 75, works 4 days a week as a gardener, so very physical.
Mil - 74, runs a very successful b&b which is very busy. She does absolutely everything for the guests/rooms herself.

None of them need to work but all enjoy it. If any of them died at 77 I'd be very shocked.

It's very rare but possible for people to die of dementia it's sadly not rare at all, and dementia isn't just memory loss: it's the gradual destruction of the brain such that the body eventually loses the ability to eat, breathe, process food etc. Alzheimer's absolutely kills and it is becoming more common to recognise this and list it on the death certificate as the cause of death.

This thread is making me feel in denial now I've read the whole thing. My PIL are in their 70s and still physically and mentally well. My kids are 12-16 and the grandparents are well enough to manage them for sleepovers, days out, etc but I suppose I'm supposed to accept they could go at any time. I can't.

I'm over 50 and my parents are 73 & 77. I agree most people can expect to still be active at this age.

However my parents are not and do very little other than deal with the essentials in life. No hobbies or interests to speak of. They are highly focused on health issues (nothing life threatening just general things that many people deal with). But they obsess about medical appointments.

I think it's a shame and is aging them. They look and seem older than they are. My inlaws otoh are a similar age and are the total opposite in outlook. So the lesson is to remain curious and active if you can and push yourself a little, otherwise age catches up faster with you.