Taken me a long time to write this. But being as I'm amongst friends I thought I'd share that my Dad died whilst on holiday in Germany.
Very much the way to go - just dropped down dead in the kitchen of the bungalow they were stopping in. The neighbours and ambulance staff worked on him for over an hour, but was pronounced dead at the Hospital.
My Sister and I drove over the next day and Dad was cremated 4 days later on the Friday. I will say that the Funeral Director (and English father-in-law) as well as the owner of the Crem were absolutely brilliant and couldn't have done anymore for us and my Mum in particular.
A very different funeral though - just the three of us at the Crem and very different to the UK - You actually see the coffin go into the "oven" Crematorium??
This quite an old picture of him (2014) - though he hadn't changed a bit - I have a picture scanned in of him my mum and me when I was about 17 and he didn't look a lot different.
(https://mark.colston-online.co.uk/People/Colin%20Colston.jpg)
Sorry to hear about your loss. Dying very quickly is great for him, as he didn't suffer, but it's a hammer blow to his family left behind. I was upset when my own father died in hospital years ago but, I took comfort from the life he lived to the full and the people who fondly remembered him. It's not easy to see that at the time but it will comfort you in years to come.
Thanks Oldboy - yeah it was a heck of a shock - I was in London on a job and was packing up whilst still on the phone to my wife who told me.
Loads of my Cousins sent some really lovely messages - I was quite surprised how much they thought of him, particularly those on my Mums side - only because Mum was brought up by her Grandparents and wasn't close to her sisters so only saw them once a year really. But he did all sorts for many of them over the years - he was a woodwork teacher (He liked to be thought of as a cabinet maker) - things like kids chairs, dining tables (For one of mums sisters) and just stuff!
I have also said to mum that, long term, as well as being good for him to go without any suffering or long term illness, it was best for her not having to nurse him. Especially as he would have hated it.
I'm so sorry to hear of your loss.
Sounds like he will be remembered fondly.
So sorry to hear that.
Up until I was about 12, my mother and I lived with one of her sisters and her husband. My Uncle Arthur was really a father to me, and he also died suddenly. He sat down and appeared to just doze off. A peaceful way to go but still a great shock for us all.
Sorry for your loss but at least you can take comfort that it happened quickly and he didn`t suffer too much. No easier for those left behind to bear but at least you have your photos and memories. I regret that when my dad dies, relatively young more than 20 years ago I didn`t have as many photos of him as I`d have liked as I wasn`t so much into photography then and lived away.
I only have about 130 pictures of him on my computer - though Mum has a lot I think.
I may have said elsewhere, but my father-in-law died 3weeks before my dad - though he wasn't a surprise. Still sad though.
I know it was different, but Dad had everything sorted in 4 days - death certificate and licence to take the ashes out the country. (That is a whole different story!) One of our neighbours died the Friday before Dad - the funeral was last week and is still waiting for the death certificate.
But definitely the way to go - perhaps not in Germany in a Pandemic - to just die of natural causes (Official reason). My aim!