I know how difficult it is for you and your family.

Each passage was unique and difficult in its own way. The most recent, my mother's advancing dementia which robbed her of her present for her last ten years, was most exhausting and demanding. I watched my mother become a child. My mother effectively died ten years before she passed, and my siblings and I were left to care for a stranger, albeit and rather nice old lady. My MIL's passing before that was tragic in its loneliness. She had lived in relative isolation and simply slipped away in front of our eyes from one affliction or another after her husband passed away.. My father's passing was a torturous affair that ended with him in peace. Sharp as ever at 88 when he passed, he spent his last decade holding his breath as to maintain a normal life as he battled the ravages of emphysema. After fighting to breathe, a series of strokes took his energy to fight and he slept away to a peaceful crossing. My FIL was a textbook case for assisted dying. A botched heart surgery followed by horrible after-care caused him post-surgery infections leading to additional surgery (against his will) that removed his rib-cage and left him in a pained and near-vegetative state. For a year, he lingered, moaning every day to let him go.

My point in all of this, aside from letting go some still raw emotion bottled up over time, is to let you know that you are not alone and that there is no "normal" when experiencing the passing of a loved one. Each situation is unique, but memory of the person always remains, as does the void in your heart. These transitions are both beautiful and sad.
[Post edited by Newt at 12/21/2016 1:58PM]