No contact with elderly father , has anyone been through this?

[Poodlelove]

I have had a difficult relationship with my father for over 50 years.

He is not a nice person, when my mother passed away ( they were divorced as he had many affairs ) I was back in contact with him . He behaved for a while and obviously he showed his true colours once again and we are no longer speaking.
Has anyone else been through similar ?
His latest bad behaviour affected several members of our family.
He is 80 years old , he is selfish , he lies , he cheats and is manipulative and years ago when I was growing up he was aggressive, controlling and mean.
I won't ever have any contact again with him.
Our mum was the sweetest , kind and most thoughtful person , but she passed away in her 60s suddenly .
I am so sad that she is no.longer with us and he is just doing exactly what he wants as usual.
Is this normal for an 80 year old man ?

It's normal for that 80 year old man. I'm sorry he's not been the parent you deserve.

This.

They don’t turn into sweet old dears just because they’re retired, they become more of their true self.

If it’s solidarity you’re after I am NC with my selfish witch of a mother. She tried to rope me into some massively guilt-trippy LPOA which was the final straw and I walked away. I haven’t spoken to her in over a year, blocked all forms of contact. The family flying monkeys get involved and if they ignore the polite request to back off they get blocked too.

Look after yourself. You get one short life, don’t waste it on people who don’t appreciate you.

Your dad sounds just like my dad- maybe they were separated at birth?!!
I went no contact 18 months ago, and it has helped me so much. I hoped that he might mellow with age but if anything, he was getting more hostile, bullying, controlling as the years passed after my mum died. He never said, 'how are you' or asked about his lovely grandchildren (he used to openly criticise them for mumbling or being shy of him when we visited. He didn't even bother to feign interest in them. This hurt a lot.)
Luckily I have a couple of siblings living nearby him. We are on the same page about him being a cantankerous old git, all of us having lived in the house as children with his rages and bullying. My siblings seem to cope better with rolling their eyes at his outbursts and have strong boundaries. He has plenty of money for booze and betting (his main interests in life for decades). Therapy helps me so much.
I wish you well, and in my humble opinion- yes, going no or low contact can help A LOT!!