One of my neighbors retired a few weeks ago.

[milestogo]

This morning she died. Relatives could not reach her and it turned out she had died in her sleep overnight. I don't know the cause.

She was excited about life after retirement.

I guess none of us really knows how long we have, so we have to cherish every day.

[Fla Dem]

1. What a shame. I hope she had a good life. RIP

[milestogo]

4. She loved gardening and had a half dozen bird houses

so she was outside a lot. I think she did have a good life. She had people who will miss her.

[cachukis]

2. Persactly.

[Alephy]

3. That is so sad

[ThoughtCriminal]

5. I've seen this happen far to often - nm

[Gordcanuck]

17. In my younger days as a gov't. pension dept. worker

I did indeed note a higher than “normal” number of federal retirees expiring 12 to 16 months after leaving. It was unexplained, even after becoming a known statistic. Either the work was stultifying or too stressful to endure , I thought.
So to beat the rap I left, resolved never to work as a “fonctionnaire” again. I’m now 77 and I don’t regret having a varied but sometimes insecure existence thereafter.
Gord🇨🇦

[LogDog75]

26. I don't know if that's true or not

I've heard the same thing said about military retirees that many die within a couple of years after retiring. I think it's more of an urban legend than actual fact. I retired from the AF in January of 2003 and worked for the VA a couple of months before deciding to permanently retire at age 53. Twenty-two years later I'm still alive and kicking.

I firmly believe each person, biologically, has a natural end date. For some it's in their 50s or 60s and others it's in their 70s or 80s. What that date for each of us is is unknown but we don't need to do things that shorten that date.

[sdfernando]

29. My Dad was a career Army officer

Retired after 30 years, if you include his stint as a postal worker before the Army. He lived to be 95yo, so was retired from the Army for 46 years, which is longer than the time he was in.

[beaglelover]

28. Me too. I help current employees transition into retirement as part of my job. There's at least 10 instances I can

think of off the top of my head, where an executive who retired after many years of service died in the first 2 years of retirement. Not sure what causes this. Many of these people had high powered careers so maybe they have trouble transitioning to a not so powerful person and it causes them depression or something. It is very sad.

[Hope22]

6. I'm so sorry!

I wonder how many people have had crazy stress watching their retirement funds disappear. I have a friend who is retiring next month and this market administration is making her crazy. The stress is off the chart!

[Skittles]

7. it doesn't mean she didn't enjoy working

just sayin'.............

[wolfie001]

8. So glad I'm out!

Like I broke out of prison.

[Skittles]

9. same

five decades was ENOUGH!

[wolfie001]

22. Wow! I worked about 46 or so

Close to 40 were Union grocery. Cheers!

[Skittles]

30. OK I did count some entry level "lean years"

total full time military and corporate = 47 years

[wolfie001]

32. As long as you were collecting a paycheck, you were working!

Ya got me beat!

[TygrBright]

10. "Time is a gift so precious we are given only one moment of it at a time." n/t

[wolfie001]

23. I like that! So apt! nt

[LoisB]

11. How sad. May she rest in peace. I hope she enjoyed life.

[SheltieLover]

12. ...

[PJMcK]

13. Were you friends?

Our neighbor died a couple of years ago. He and his wife, with whom we are still close friends, were wonderful neighbors who were long-time immigrants from Latvia. He was a successful financial advisor and she is an amazing mother, home maker, gourmet chef and a terrific gardener.

The gentleman and I played many rounds of golf together and he provided tons of advice and perspectives. He died suddenly and because his son is an Orthodox Jew, neither we nor his wife were permitted to pay our respects. Those are the rules we were asked to respect which, of course, we complied. Disappointing but we shared our solace with his widow.

It's very sad as we get older and people in our lives pass on. It reminds me that we only get one chance at this life so we must make the most of it.

Peace.

[XanaDUer2]

14. Why would his wife not be allowed

To pay her respects?

[PJMcK]

15. I'm not Jewish so the laws are not my speciality

She tearfully told us that there is a traditional Jewish law, probably from the Torah (sort of the Old Testament to Christians) that the widow is restricted for one year after the deceased had passed. My personal opinion is that this is probably intended to help the widow grieve but in our friend's case, it caused the opposite and increased her grief. To be clear, I am not Jewish so I cannot intelligently discuss Jewish laws. But I do know that our neighbors are very good people and it pained us to see her in such pain.

Again, I am not a theologian so I cannot comment intelligently about Jewish Law. On the other hand, I am an atheist so all religious rules are anathema to me. Still, as a pacifist, it's not my place to judge others' beliefs or practices. They just have zero impact on my life except when they affect or hurt my friends.

Perhaps there's someone on DU who can provide more information.

[Figarosmom]

16. Geez thats sad

[electric_blue68]

18. Very sad. Thank goodness she had had things she enjoyed.

[chouchou]

19. Only retired for a few weeks. That's just unfair. She should have enjoyed her birds/Birdhouse for a few years.

[milestogo]

20. I have 5 birdhouses on my balcony, and right now three of them are occupied.

This is the first time I've ever done this. Its a thrill to see them make their nests and have little ones!

[chouchou]

24. Sounds wonderful. I've got 2 bird houses, each on a 10 ft 4 in pvc pipe on my property.

Love to see them coming and going.

[milestogo]

25. It's amazing how quickly they put together a nest.

And once the chicks are born they are up and out pretty quickly!

[Emile]

21. That is so sad. I have seen others that waited too long

and die before retiring too.

[TexasBushwhacker]

27. I expect that to be me, quite honestly

I'm 68 and still working full time. I like working, but if I had enough savings that retire, I'm probably would. I just don't. My mother taught math in public schools for 21 years. She retired as soon as she was eligible, at age 60. She retired at the end of May, 1994 and was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer that August. I am diligent about getting my annual mammograms and have been since age 40. Had to have biopsies on both boobs in 2012, but knock on wood, I'm still cancer free.

[soldierant]

31. The other side of the coin is

represented by those - and we all know at least one (I am one in fact( who says "I'm so glad my mother (father, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, etc.) died before she/he/they had to see our country turn into a dictatorship." Dying now, regardless how close or far away it is to one's retirement, could turn out to be a blessing.