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'

no one can accept they will lose people close to them at some stage strong, my mum died in her 80's a few years ago and I still struggle to accept it.

I agree with Francis above

I struggle to hear my mums voice in my head, to picture her face, to remember how it feels to sit beside her and have a cuppa

I dont know if I struggle as its just too painful or if my thoughts play tricks with me

The average life expectancy in the uk is 79yo for men and 82yo for women.
Which means that half of the people will be dead by the time they reach 80yo.
On that ground, I think it's pretty 'normal' to see someone dying at 77yo.
It's not particularly young or surprising.

Yes, how we grieve depends on a billion variables other than age.

However, for me, dying at 77 is not too young, reaching 77 is a privilege -a happy thing.

strong my parents are similar r age than yours. So are my PIL.
Both set every active, have the dcs for thehols for a whole week etc etc.
Except that in the last 18 months, my dad and FIL have been diagnosed with canacer, MIL has had open heart surgery. Only my mum has no issue at all.

Is it crap to think about it? Yes
But I'd rather face up to that and make the most out the time they are here than taking them for granted and the regret to not have spent as much time with them/rung them etc...
In effect, I'm refusing to see what has happened with gran happening again with them (I was much younger then, thought she would be living until a 100 like her own mum and just didn't out the effort needed just to ring regularly. That's one of the few things I deeply regret in my life)

I struggle to hear my mums voice in my head, to picture her face, to remember how it feels to sit beside her and have a cuppa

I can't either, and it's been less than 6 months. I think the shock of the way she went wiped everything from my memory banks - hopefully only temporarily.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40608256 - on the leveling out of life expectancy.

Fairly nope the drop in life xpectency in the uk is closely correlated to austerity measures and the grumbling of the NHS. Unfortunately because it means it is actually preventable :(:(

You can't die of old age

Of course you can. Idiotic to suggest otherwise.

77 sounds pretty old to me, it's almost an average life span and 25 years more than either of my parents lived, and it's not an age I'll ever reach.

Google "can you die of old age"

I've explained already

Whatever age a person is, somebody has died and that is sad. Liz Dawn was an iconic actress, I remember her well in Coronation Street, as part of the Vera and Jack Duckworth duo. I am not filled with grief, I did not know her, but sad that a great actress has gone.

Strong we could all go at any time! If your ILs are active and fit, they could go on for years.

Morning all.

This was not intended to upset or offend and I truly apologise to anyone who has felt this was the case.

I obviously worded it very badly. I appreciate those who did 'get' my intention and again, apologise for how it could have been misconstrued.

Some of the bitter posts are just that, bitter (41 a good innings compared to a younger sibling?) it wasn't meant to be a competition or comparison nor to stamp on "who is allowed to grieve".

Perhaps my feeling cross is more aimed towards the media. I feel sometimes the way newsreaders conclude the line of 'tributes paid their to X who has died at the age of . Brucie was mentioned up thread and to be honest when I heard of his passing my surprise was more that he had lived as long as he had given his health deterioration over recent time.

So, I'll shurrup now. I'm at risk of over explaining myself and possibly causing more upset. Of course death at ANY age is distressing for those close. I cannot understand grieving for someone I never met although can empathise with those left behind.

Everything I don't think your summary is correct. The researchers actually said there were many factors involved.

I think the fact most of us eat and drink more alcohol, and walk about less, are major factors. We have to take some responsibility.

One of the things that I have realised as I get older, is how quickly someone older can go from fit and active, to frail and needing care.
Like Bob who was incredibly fit and spent all his leave on long hiking holidays. He had a bad stroke, and a year later was dead. It has taught me not to take anything for granted.

77 doesn't feel that old (my dads just turned 70 & he looks late 50s). I would be gutted to lose him. Also at 77 you don't die of 'old age'.

Over 80 something is the average age to die in the uk but in my family it's 89 or older.

My nan died in April, she was 91 which was a good age but I found the manner of her illness & death upsetting (she didn't have a nice life for over a year) and I do miss her.

Just to add i never thought my grandad's family would be long lived as they all grew up in poverty (2 died in childhood) and ate one small meal a day but they all lived til late 80s / 90s.

I agree with you OP. The average age of death in the UK is currently 81 years. That's the average, so there will be many people who die before 8 as well as many who die after. We all expect to make a ripe old age of 80- or 90-odd these days, but the statistics are against us and someone who dies of emphysema is very likely indeed to have either smoked or lived with a smoker - so it's not exactly rocket science that that person may well die earlier than average.

I agree with you for what it's worth. And I'm sorry that your lost your father so early in your, and his, life.

There is an enormous difference in life expectancy in terms of class. Also some families have a "long life gene". It is thought the Royal family have this. So even Princess Margaret who smoked and drunk heavily throughout her adult life, lived to a good old age.

Most women in my family live to a long age. Many of the men have died young due to industrial diseases such as exposure to asbestos. Many people still die young because of their job. We didn't have proper health and safety in the past.

Also emphysema -many people worked in offices alongside chain smokers. It is not allowed now thankfully.

My mum died at 73. It was pretty shocking to me.

77 sounds pretty old to me

It's not, though.
It's below life expectancy at birth for most developed countries.

People who die by that age die due to accidents or specific health problems.

81 is the current average life expectancy for women in this country. Your life expectancy depends on your current age. If you are in your 20s, your life expectancy will be higher than someone born in 1945.

The average life expectancy in the uk is 79yo for men and 82yo for women. Which means that half of the people will be dead by the time they reach 80yo. On that ground, I think it's pretty 'normal' to see someone dying at 77yo. It's not particularly young or surprising.

But lots of people will already have died along the way. There won't be those many dying at 77.
If you look at life expectancy at specific ages, you'll see that if you managed to reach 77 your life expectancy will probably be well into the 80s and probably in the 90s.

If you are in your 20s, your life expectancy will be higher than someone born in 1945.

Actually, it's the opposite. A person of 72 has a higher life expectancy than a person in their 20s.
Things change and the current generations may not live longer than those now in their 70s or 80s.