My father passed away in a car accident in February 2008, he was only 42 at the time.

My mother passed away about a year and a half later in August of 2009 during surgery, she was also 42 at the time.

Both of their deaths really affected me. I don't drive and have a really difficult time even in the passenger seat sometimes, unless I really trust the person driving. And I have a major fear of hospitals/doctors.

I didn't cope well with either death, but I think it was worse with my dad, because he was an alcoholic and our relationship had been pretty rocky for most of my teenage years and into early adulthood until he passed away, so I have a lot of regrets as far as he is concerned. My mom, even though she was young, had a lot of health problems, so even though it was still rather sudden, as her health problems weren't exactly life threatening, I was a little more prepared for it.

It has helped me a lot to write in a journal and my sister and I are really close- couldn't have made it through without her.

I've lost relative (grandparents) but no one close to me, but my father has lung cancer and I'm currently his primary caregiver so it only matter of time.

My spouse seven and a half months ago. Thinking about it now she may have died twenty two years to the day of when we first met, we'd been married nearly twenty one years.

My grandma died when I was 10 years old and we were really close. I still miss her to this day and think about her a lot. Its normal to miss or think about someone you love who has passed away no matter how long ago it happened.

My grandparents - three sets - two natural sets and one adoptive.
An Aunt and two Uncles
Several very close friends - accidentally and from disease
My father.

I actually had a daughter pass away. She was my step-daughter, but I raised her from 4 years old until she died at 10 years old and I saw that child as my own flesh and blood. She had brain cancer. She fought for 18 months before passing on. It was an emotional roller coaster the entire time, and it never stopped. It's been almost 6 years and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about her and wonder what or who she would be today. She'd be making 16 years old this year. What I hate is when people tell me I know what you're going through and it'll get easier. And I tell them unless you have lost a child, you don't know what I went through or am going through. And it doesn't get easier. It gets harder b/c every time my other children tell me that they have a headache or their weight drops I get scared that I'm gonna be going through this all over again.

My grandpa died a few years back. I think the worst part of it was watching how it affected my dad.

*hugs* been there done that, lost 16 people over 5 years...grandparents, friends, school counselor that was helping me with my grief between the ages of 9 and 14, fav teacher. Then lost my Dad at the age of 22. It sucks. Think about them all at least once a week.

Oh my goodness. So many, many people close to me have died that I don't even now where to begin.
It's horrible when it happens, but it's a part of life that we have to death with.
I've learned that there is a time for grieving, then we must move on with our lives in the company of those that are still with us.

I've had friends pass away. All of them sad, but none that affected me as much as my friend Melissa did. She was a couple of years younger than me and died of leukemia. Her spirit and strength were an amazing testimony to me of true strength and courage during seemingly unfair circumstances.

My grandfather passed away a few years ago and that affected me severely. My aunt died of a sudden heart attack and that was very unexpected and sad. My grandmother and great-grandmother on my mom's side died within months of each other and that was very hard on my family.

But the death that has affected me most was my mother's. She survived brain cancer for 13 years and I couldn't have asked for more; but it was very hard. Especially as the oldest. Especially to see her slowly deteriorate in hospice.

My oldest son died in dec of 2007. Hardest thing I have ever had to deal with and I still deal with everyday. He was 22 strong and healthy and gave me a grandson. My son was here on friday and gone on sat.....how is that possible??? I keep asking myself that everyday. He passed away in a house fire at his home. His son and gf made it out fine, but my son just never woke up. Due to the way he died I never even got to say my final good bye. I would give anything and everything just to see/hear/and hug him just once more.

There has never been a tragic death in my circle. There have been a couple of unexpected, self-induced deaths but I wasn't very close to the people who died. We were just starting our relationships when they passed.

All of my grandparents are dead, as are most of my great-aunts/uncles. I think I have a very weird outlook on death. The people just cease to be in my life any more and I don't dwell on what could have been or would have been if they'd lived to see me to adulthood.

This will all change when my mother passes. That's a day I am not looking forward to at all. And I tell my husband that I hope I never have to live a day without him. I will most likely die of a broken heart should he pass before me.

my grandmother just recently passed. it's still hard to come to terms with

The first death and subsequent funeral I experienced wasn't a family member, but he felt like a brother to me. He had a rough lot in life - bad family, depression, etc. But he always tried to be everyone's Superman.
We were good friends in middle school, but drifted apart after tempers flared from a bad prank and only reconnected later in college. He was just starting to turn his life around while on his way to his job at the library on his bike when a driver hit him and dragged him 100 yards before stopping. He suffered a lot of brain damage and after a month of fighting and surgeries, they pulled the plug and he passed away on my birthday. I miss him every day and will name a future child (if I find anyone stupid enough to have 'em with me) with his name - first or middle.
My grandfather, a man I rarely saw throughout childhood but heard wild tales of, was a different kind of death. He apparently hadn't been the same since a hunting accident in Africa and Alzheimer's slowly made him degenerate from this proud smooth talker to a feeble cranky old man. I hardly knew him, so when he died the day after Father's Day (that side likes to die near holidays...), I really couldn't feel much beyond the mourning of a random life passing. My friend's funeral spoiled me, as his wake was packed with people while my grandfather's was rather sparse...
I don't really think much about him except around Father's Day and when my sister starts to act like him.

I've lost very close friends and close family.
It's much harder to deal with than losing a distant family member.

My father (cancer) & my maternal grandfather (stroke) died on the same night.

I was 27 years old.

My grandmother, MeMe, died the Sunday before Christmas this past year (2011). She'd been deathly ill for years, one of those people who gets every life-threatening illness and somehow squeaks by in the end. The last updates I'd gotten from my parents was that she was doing alright in the hospital; but her condition swiftly deteriorated that weekend and she died during the night. Though I never admitted it, I was very mad with my folks for not alerting me so I could make the drive across the state to see her once last time.

Christmas was very awkward, as MeMe was always in charge of the gift-giving ceremonies, and it took us some time to figure out how to go about such a simple task. It was strange opening gifts with her handwriting.