Loss of a family friend

Today I found out a family friend passed away yesterday.
I still don't know exactly how I feel, or how I will react tomorrow -at the funeral.

My parents came back home from their gardening session not looking as excited as they usually do. I asked them how did the gardening go, only to find out the news.

Mr. Yiannis was a remarkable man. He was born and raised in a small Greek village. He lost his dad when his was a baby, so his mother raised him by herself. He started working at the age of nine. He left the village to go to the city at the age of 11, apprenticing as a vehicle mechanic. Then, he decided to apprentice in merchant ships as a mechanic. So, at the tender age of 13 he boarded a ship. When he was 20 years old his mother died whilst he was in the army (joining the army is compulsory for men in Greece). He was completely alone.
Ten years later he married a lovely woman, they had a daughter together. One decade later he had to quit being a mechanic and return to land permanently due to severe health implications. His family was there for him, his friends were there for him. He was well loved. He was also very fond of cats. When he was apprenticing, he didn't have anywhere to sleep, so he slept on the shop's storage floor. There were a lot of stray cats in the neighbourhood and every winter they slept with him to keep him warm. They were his friends.
The past 28 years he has been suffering from many different health issues, but he always had a smile on his face. Kind, warm and welcoming. The past couple of years were very hard on him and his family. Surgeries, more surgeries, a lot of pain and recovery. Last September he became a granddad. I heard he was so happy. It is very unfortunate his grandchild will never get to really meet this amazing human being.
I hadn't seen him for a few years myself. I deeply regret it now.

But that's the thing with death. You never know when and who it will strike.

Rest in Peace κύριε Γιάννη.
Ήσασταν υπέροχος άνθρωπος.
🌸

Neighbour passed away

Today I was notified that one of my neighbours in Greece passed away.

I knew this lady since I was a child, and I very vividly remember her and her husband (who passed away six months ago). Her husband died of heart disease (he had a pacemaker for years). She died of a heart attack or something similar. She also suffered from Alzheimer's among others.

When they were younger, they were very energetic people.
Her husband was the president of the local committee for years, and he organised so many lovely events for the whole neighbourhood to enjoy for free. He had a kind smile and was always greeting neighbours and helping out those in need.
She, even as an elder lady, was beautiful and dynamic. She had piercing green eyes, black hair and a raspy voice. She smoked like a chimney and drank a lot. She was kind and helpful as well, and I remember once, when my mum fainted in our house -I was four and didn't know what to do- she came to the rescue.
I will be forever be grateful for that.

In her late years she was in a lot of pain, and after her husband died her conditioned worsened.
They were one of the very few couples of that generation to not have children, and that had been a talk in the neighbourhood. Whether they chose to not have children, or they didn't have a choice, it's no one's business.
But that meant that each other was all they had, especially since all their relatives but their nephews had passed away. And their nephews didn't really care much to visit or support them. You see, they knew they didn't leave them any money, so they didn't care.

My mum found out on her way to the bakery shop. There were papers with details of the funeral on every sign post in the neighbourhood.
She was very shaken and when she announced the news to me she was evidently trying hard not to cry. I don't often see my mum like that, so I realised how much she respected and appreciated our neighbour who passed away.
I use "passed away" and not "died" as my mum didn't use the word "died" either today. I guess it sounds softer that way.

It feels as if with every elder person passing away, a part of my neighbourhood dies as well. Those elder people made this neighbourhood what it is -to me. They gave it that oldschool character, they kept it tight, as a neighbourhood.

She was over 70 but under 80 years old. Not young, but not ridiculously old either. And that scares me, as other important people of my life grow older as well.
Death is a scary thing after all, and sometimes only justified when it ends one's suffering. Like our neighbour's.

I don't really know how to feel, or what else to say. So I'd like to remain silent. For a minute or two. And reflect on life, try not to think of death, and honour her memory.

And if any of you who read this are religious, please say a prayer for her soul to rest in peace. She was religious too, so I'm sure she'd appreciate it.

Her name was Eleni.