How old were you when your parents died

My father died 6 months before I was born, he was in the RAF in WW2. He was only 22. My mother died when I was 61, she was 85.

44 when my mother died, but she suffered from desperate depression for the last 20 years of her life, and Parkinson's and dementia triggered by the ECT and drugs for depression, so I 'lost' her long before.

52 when my father died, so glad he had some years to do what he wanted to do after caring for my mother for so long.

I was 54 when my father died. I’m 70 now and my mother is still alive at 99. I always worried about how my children would cope with the death of grand parents but they were grown up before the first one died.

I'm sorry to hear your parents died when you were so young Flexiblefriend it must have been very difficult for you.

A journalist fishing maybe, @janeainsworth?

Or maybe a sociology student?

I don't think the motivation, whatever it is, is necessarily nefarious. One could regard it in the same light as census questions. Numerical statistics that this thread's question asks for can be useful.

Yes, but for whom? And why? We don't know

I don't think this is how the ONS collect its information.

I'm wondering to what damaging purpose that someone (or some organisation) knowing at what age a bunch of people were when their parents died could possibly be used for. Since I can't think of anything harmful for which such anonymous knowledge could be used, I don't understand the worry one or two posters have expressed. Happy to be informed of what the specific worries are if anyone cares to enlighten me.

57 when mum passed and i lost my best friend that day. She was 21 years older than me and as i got older she was my truest friend i could tell her anything and everything. Dad sadly he died aged 56 and i was 35.

I’m not worried Baggs. I just think it’s a bit nosey.

I was 3 when my Mum died and 33 when my Dad died. I don't like the number 3.
When I was nursing deaths on the ward always came in 3s.

Glad you're not worried, janea.

I don't think there's anything really untoward about a bit of apparently harmless nosiness. Seems a lot of posters feel that too, since they've responded.

No-one has to reply so no problem is my take.

I was 19 when my died died at the age of 57 from cancer. My mam was devastated and I had to help her with the funeral arrangements. Sadly I had got married, against their wishes at the age of 18, something which I will always regret. Mam lived until she was 99 years old and that was back in 2009. I miss them both so much and I always will as I had a brilliant childhood. My mam was a brilliant mam and fantastic gran to my 3 children.

There were a couple of ‘sex’ question threads started a while back, started by different usernames not familiar to me.

I was amazed at how much personal, private details people were willing to give in their posts on those threads.

I was 30/31 when my dad died and 45 when my mum died. Mum's health had suffered after losing my dad and she never got over losing him. It's dreadful to see someone with a broken heart as there's nothing you can do to help with that depth of suffering.

I've missed them both many a time in my life and though it was a strict household it was also an idyllic lifestyle and us as children never went without anything. Always lovely meals clean beds and fresh towels---- things you remember most.

30 when dad died of cancer. 31 when mum died of a heart attack. I so envy people who had their parents around longer.

I've been lucky - I still had both parents when I was in my late 50-60s.
Dad died when I was 58, Mum when I was 66. At the time we had come to live near them after all our travels.
(though we went off again afterwards.)

I was 53 when my much loved dad died of a cardiac arrest. He lived for three days on life support but sustained massive brain damage. He was taken off the machines on the third day, and died in the early hours of the morning. It was a huge shock and I still struggle with it now, nearly three years later. Dad was a lovely kind, funny, man, I miss him everyday.

late 20`s dad
early 30`s mum

I am coming on 84 in June, two ds! what a time they will have, I tend to think we are close.

dh died just before Christmas, and we are all sooooo grieving.
perhaps they will be used to death when I go..

I was 18 when Dad died, he went from apparently fit and well to dead of cancer in 3 weeks at the age of 56 immense shock to us all. I was fortunate that Mum lived to 101 and died when I was 65, so grateful to have had her so long but the final couple of years of her life were blighted by dementia.

Callgirl1, sorry your father died when you were so young. Do you sometimes imagine him or wonder what your relationship could have been like? Hope you don’t mind me asking but I am aware of someone who has idealised their missing parent

I was 34 when my dad died.Still miss him so much.Mum is still here,she has never got over my dads death,if you met and spoke to her you would think he had recently died,not that he died nearly 26 years ago.

8 when my dad died at 47 after having rheumatic fever as a child. 19 when mum died of cancer at 53. As others have said it does affect the rest of your life. Boyfriend now husband helped me through losing my mum and blessed to have 2 lovely children and 3 granddaughters.

I never met my father, parents separated before I was born. My mother died when I was 60, just a few months after I retired.

21 when Mum died.She was only 55.I had a 2 year old.She died on 20th December and was buried on the Christmas Eve.Christmas was never the same.I feel so sorry that she had 7 Grandchildren in total and only saw 1 of them.And they missed out on such a wonderful,loving person in their lives.Dad died aged 79.I was 34.I had 3 children by then and they were distraught.My oldest aged 15 at the time locked himself away and sobbed for hours.

30 when my mum died and 38 when dad died. Both much missed.