Eldergays, are you now older than your parents were when they died?

Papa died when I was 13; mama died when I was 43.

I'm pushing 80.

Good health care, exercise, therapy, and loving partnerships have extended my life, and I am grateful.

I'm old, but my father died this year at 93 and my mom is healthy and nearly 90. My great-great grandmother (that's TWO greats, in other words, my grandmother's grandmother) was alive when I was a child. She died less than a month before she would have been 100 years old. Unless I'm unlucky, I've still got a ways to go. Yes, people generally think that I'm WAY YOUNGER than I am. I'll probably start suddenly aging in a few years though.

Hell, no! Both my parents are still alive. Mom's 85, and Dad will be 89 in June. Amazing.

I have, however, outlived my dad's parents, who both died in their early 60s. I guess that's something.

Mom passed at 67, Dad passed at 74. I'm 71 this year and just diagnosed with treatable prostate cancer. I think I'll be checking out real soon.

I was an adult when both of my great grandparents on my mother’s side died. They were 103 and 105 and passed within 3 months of each other. Until then, they were mobile, clearheaded, lived by themselves, and both had a wicked sense of humor. I hope I inherited those genes.

Yeah, my mom was 37 when she died. I’m well past that. My father is 78 but bedridden. His father lived to be 101! My grandfather stayed engaged, especially on matters of technology and politics.

Older than one. Getting close to the other.

I'm 72; my sister died at 55, my father at 68. My mother made it to 93, then she killed herself.

Yes - my dad died of a brain tumor when he was 54...

It was a hard day when i reached that milestone -

OP my father was 86 and my mother 92. They're both g one. I have a ways to go. I will probably out live my father, but not my mother.

My father died at 79, my mother at 89.

I'm mid-60s and think my father lived to about the ideal age: late 70s/early 80s when still able and keen to do things and before his days were filled with decline, doctor visits, medical tests, and trays filled with pills.

Younger than I am now.

I'm 71, my dad was 75 when he died. My mother is in perfect health at 96. The people on my dad's side died in their 60's and early 70's. My mother's family in their 90's but my mother is beating all of them. She said she will live to 107, fuck me.

Going through losing my parents is increasingly becoming my biggest fear as I get older. My grandparents in both sides lived a long time - 92 and 98 (grandmothers). I’m 50 in a couple of eeeks and both my parents will be 77 this year. I hate not knowing if you have five, ten, twenty years left.

No. I have a ways to go. But the truth be told I'm ready now. There's nothing left. I live in cramped section 8 housing. I live off of a social security check. My parents who did quite well for themselves fell out of like with me when they found out I was gay, felt they got stuck with the booby prize, no All-American son for them, and broke many promises in terms of inheritance. I was giving all my money to government under section 8 so no savings. Eventually nervous breakdown when all this hit me like a brick wall. 5 weeks in a hospital(my mother: I was so happy when I heard you were in a hospital!) and not one member of my immediate family got in touch with me. A fag you know. No affection or sex as I'm getting older. Socializing and hobbies don't interest me. I've traveled enough and will not be again. I'm lonely but people are a chore. My parents loved living and enjoyed themselves-a second home in Boca, many trips to Europe, cruising. Until they got hit with cancer and died within a year. No good memories of them. So yes like a few others I'm ready. If I get cancer will I have the courage to say no treatment just the morphine! I hope so.

I was named after my grandfather, who died exactly eight months before I was born. Thanks to your thread, OP, I’m now realizing that I will outlive him if I survive until July 6th.

^Make that July 7th; my grandfather died in a leap year.

I'm 59, my mother died at age 82, father, age 76. Most of my father's relatives lived long lives, he had a half-uncle who lived to be 102.

My paternal great-grandfather had 6 children with my great-grandmother, she died two weeks after giving birth to #6, she was in her 40's.

Great-grandfather remarried to a much younger woman (he was 46, she was 19), they had 8 children, she died in her 40's. GGF died in 1945, age 92.

Make that July 8th. Granddad was also born in a leap year.

Yes I am

Older than my mom who died when I was a teen, but not my dad who died at the age of 82

My dad passed just before Christmas at 90 and my mum is 82. I'm 55 and hoping I outlive her, but after she's gone I don't want to hang around for too long. Having seen my dad's decline with dementia I want to live through that.

*don't

I have zero desire to live to 100. My father lived to 85, my mother was 96. Their final years were hellish with poor physical health and dementia. Right now, at 69, I am in much better health than they were at this age.

No, not older than my father, he died at 61. My mom is alive at 81 years of age.

My mom is 85 and active, in unusually robust health for her age. On a good day I like to believe I'll follow her path.

My dad had the best death and I want it for myself. 86 healthy years, then two increasingly weak months but no pain, then his growing aortic aneurysm (known) finally burst and he died instantly, hitting the living room rug with a resounding thud. Total contrast to both his parents decades earlier. They both deteriorated very very very slowly in nursing homes and ran completely out of money (and they started with a very health sum).

The current elder generation, the Silent generation, now in their 80s and 90s, is breaking all the actuarial tables. This is likely because of what is known as the semi-starved rat phenomenon. Organisms, if calorie restricted while young, have extended life spans probably due to their developing more efficient metabolic machinery. The silent generation were born and were children during that sixteen year band of relative scarcity known as The Depression and World War II. Later generations, like the Boom and Gen X won't get that boost as they came of age in times of plenty and are therefore not as likely to live as long. My parents, born 1932, made it to 87 (mom) who was felled by a genetic dementia and 92 (dad - who's still kicking but starting to fade). My guess is I'll live about ten years less.

My mother was only 54 years old when she died. I am now 59 years old.

R15- How old are you?

I’m 54 and it’s wild to me that my grandfather died of lung cancer at 54 when I was 7. I still remember how the hospital pretty much sent him home to die. You heard him coughing and gurgling until my mom and uncle called the ambulance to pick him up and take him back to the hospital to keep him comfortable. I still remember the morning after he died, everyone was outside, and I was in the house by myself playing, when I heard coughing and gurgling sounds like he had been making. It scared the hell out of me. I ran out of the house so fast, but never told anyone why. Anyway, yeah, it’s a bit wild to think of dying at this age now that I am this age.

My mom and her six siblings had 17 children among them.

Her brother and his wife, both who lived to their mid 80s, had three children, one who died at the age of 78, another who died at the age of 75, and a third who just had his third major heart surgery.

The rest of the 17 grandchildren are in relatively decent health, so were are all wondering what genetic or outside trait would cause premature deaths and major health concerns in one of the siblings children.

Yes.

My mother is 96-1/2. There is no way I'm living that long.

Not following the thread topic, but...

When I was in college, my mom kept calling me to report that my dad was making frequent visits to his doctor with a whole range of symptoms. Dad was a heavy smoker, so health issues at 55 were not a surprise. But I couldn't get a straight answer from my mom about the real problem, and my dad was not a communicator. He saw me as just a kid.

So, one day, I hopped into my car and drove the 50 miles to the city where my dad's doctor had his office. I had no appointment, but just walked in and asked to see him. He was immensely friendly and a bit surprised about my visit. I asked him to tell me what the story was with my dad, and he told me that he had stomach cancer - a direct link to his smoking - and he had less than a year to live. I told the doctor that my dad was a realist and needed to know this information, since he had many options in this final year.

I got a call from my dad a few days later. He knew that I had visited his physician and finally knew the truth about his condition. He knew he had six to nine months of relatively manageable health before things went south, and he told me that he and my mom were going to book a six-month trip to visit all the places on their bucket list that were doable. He wanted me to join them, at least for part of the trip. My dad had never spoken with me this way - ever - and I sensed our relationship had changed. He saw me as an adult and someone he could talk with.

I did join them on their travels through South America, and it was one of the most cherished parts of my life. What I really enjoyed was how spontaneous they both were—willing to divert from their itinerary to visit some unusual place or do something less mainstream.

My dad lived another year before he passed. I am now 20 years older than my dad was when he died.