Reply #61: Relationships are no guarantee (of anything) [View All]

[Catbird]

My parents had a long and generally happy marriage. They both died alone, as we all do.

My mother had dementia and gradually lost all her memories of her family and friends. My father died before her, in the same nursing home where she was staying. He meant nothing to her by that time, and we did not take her to his funeral.

My mother died in advanced dementia. I was with her when she died. I doubt that she had any idea who this woman in her room was. Perhaps she was aware that someone was with her for her passage; I don't know. I think one of the nursing home employees might have stayed with her if I had not been there.