# How old were you when you lost your last grandparent? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 29, 2008, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617 "2008-02-29T06:49:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/101 "2014-06-13T03:08:54Z")
8 years old: Paternal Grandmother died of cancer at 77 26 years old: Paternal Grandfather died at 95 2 weeks before I turned 27: Maternal Grandfather died of prostate cancer at 86 43 years old: Maternal Grandmother died at 90 My father was adopted so I don’t know the longevity on that side of the family. My mother’s family seem to come from pretty hearty stock. Their siblings almost all made it into their 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b38774/32.png) [@Girl\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/102 "2014-06-13T05:05:01Z")
I started life with four great-grandparents and four grandparents. Now, at age 45, I have just one grandparent left. Age 1: Maternal great-grandfather died. Age 13: Paternal grandmother died. Age 18: Maternal great-grandmother died. Age 18: Paternal great-grandmother died. Age 20: Paternal great-grandfather died. Age 33: Paternal grandfather died. Age 38: Maternal grandmother died. My paternal grandfather remarried when my grandmother died but I don’t think of his (still living) wife as my grandmother. She was a close family friend who I’ve known since birth so, even though I care for her very much, I never stopped thinking of her as “Jane”. My sister’s kids, born after they married, all call her Grandma and think of her as their great-grandmother. ---
**Author:** ![jfd101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a5b964/32.png) [@jfd101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jfd101)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/103 "2014-06-13T06:33:31Z")
The fact that anyone has great-grandparents as kids and young adults just amazes me. My mom never even knew her grandparents, let alone me. And my dad’s last grandparent died in 1969, 23 years before I was born. Granted many of them died younger, but still. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/104 "2014-06-13T13:11:51Z")
Started with 4 grandparents and 1 great grand parent, I’m 46 and down to one grandparent. Age 14 - great grandmother dies Age 19 - paternal stepgrandfather dies Age 20 - maternal grandfather dies Age 20 - maternal grandmother dies Maternal grandmother is still alive and kicking although there have been a few health scares lately. My husband is 50 and his paternal grandmother is in the same shape as my maternal one. This means my kids are 25 and 23 and still have 2 great grand mothers alive. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/105 "2014-06-13T13:38:06Z")
Since my father wasn’t born until his parents were 50, I never met them. They died before I was born. Same for my mother’s father, who died young. The only grandparent I knew was my mother’s mother, who lived to be 93 and who died in 1975 when I was 28. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/106 "2014-06-13T13:39:33Z")
Both my grandfathers died before I was born. My paternal grandmother died when I was 10. My maternal grandmother died when I was 16. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/107 "2014-06-13T14:02:57Z")
I kind of knew one great grandmother on my mother’s side. She lived across the country so I only ever met her a few times. I was probably around 10 when she died. I knew one great grandfather on my father’s side, he died when I was 11. I remember going to his house every so often, but never understood who he was at that age. My mother’s father died just before I was born. Her mother is still alive at 84. My father’s father died when I was 9, only have vague memories of him as he wasn’t around much. I do remember him giving me money to go buy cigarettes for him and them actually selling them to me at 9. My father’s mother died when I was 22. We used to spend a lot of time with her and I still miss her. My daughters have two great grandmothers alive. Though they will never know my mother as she died just before my oldest was born. I’m almost 41, my parents had me young so their parents were pretty young too. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/108 "2014-06-13T14:03:42Z")
Maternal grandmother - died when I was two (murder) Maternal grandfather - died when I was 25 (prostate cancer). He and my daughter were quite close Paternal Grandfather - died when I was four. Damage from an exploding television! Paternal grandmother - died when I was some age between 13 and 22. No idea of the cause So it was just my maternal Grandad for me for most of my life, really. And their causes of death tell me nothing about my own long-term prospects (prostate cancer in a man in his eighties is to be expected and isn’t an indicator of anything). > [@panache45](#): > > My maternal grandmother died giving childbirth, long before I was born. The baby survived, and is now the grandmother of 7. > > My paternal grandfather died of tuberculosis, also long before I was born. > > Around the time I was born, my maternal grandfather married my paternal grandmother. These were the only grandparents I ever knew. He died when I was 9; she died when I was in my early 20s. That must have been an interesting wedding! ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/109 "2014-06-13T14:08:18Z")
This is weird because I got news this morning that my paternal grandfather just had emergency heart surgery and it doesn’t look good. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/110 "2014-06-13T14:20:12Z")
My mother’s mother, my last living grandparent, is still somehow alive and in remarkably good shape despite being a 90-something year old woman who seems to survive on nothing but sausage and vodka. She’s mostly lucid (and a very nice old alcoholic lady) but she’s very forgetful, and doesn’t seem to remember much that’s happened in the last decade or so. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/111 "2014-06-13T14:22:26Z")
Lost my maternal grandparents in the 1990’s. My paternal grandfather about 11 years ago. My paternal grandmother is still going pretty well at age 92. I am in the low 40’s. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/112 "2014-06-13T14:37:11Z")
First 3; 10, 29 and 39. I was probably about 45 when my grandfather died at 100. He and grandma were married 74 years. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/113 "2014-06-13T14:44:58Z")
I was 47 and still had both paternal grandparents when this thread was started. I lost my grandmother a few months later after I turned 48, and my grandpa two months before my 51st birthday. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/114 "2014-06-13T14:54:45Z")
12, paternal grandmother. The other three all died before I was born. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/115 "2014-06-13T15:03:54Z")
My mom’s dad died when I was 1, Dad’s dad died when I was 5, Mom’s mom died when I was 22, and Dad’s mom is still fit, active and traveling the world, in her mid-70s. I’ll be 32 next month. My wife is 33, and still has all four of her grandparents. ETA, my almost-8-year-old son has 3 grandparents (my wife’s dad died before he was born). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/116 "2014-06-13T15:28:34Z")
14 (paternal grandf., age 69) 17 (paternal grandm., age 67) 34 (maternal grandm., age 91) 40 (maternal grandf., age 90) ---
**Author:** ![RickG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rickg/32/5174_2.png) [@RickG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickG)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/117 "2014-06-13T15:41:36Z")
I had 3 grandparents and 3 great-grandparents when I was born. My mother’s mother’s father died when I was a baby. My mother’s mother’s mother died when I was about five–I have only the vaguest of memories of her. My father’s mother’s mother died when I was 8, so I also remember her only a bit. My paternal grandfather died, very young, 4 years before I was born. The three remaining grandparents all died within a 16 month span: maternal grandmother, age 83 (ovarian cancer) just before my 38th birthday; paternal grandmother, just after her 89th birthday, when I was 38; and maternal grandfather, age 92 and a month, by which time I was 39. My kids, almost 19 and just turned 16, have all four of their grandparents still alive. They were 8 and 5 when my last grandparent died, and the elder was about 2 when my wife’s last grandparent died. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/118 "2014-06-13T15:50:04Z")
My mom’s dad died two years before I was born, at age 65. _His_ mother lived to be 102, she died when I was 11. The other three grandparents all went within a few years of each other: Paternal grandfather, age 80, when I was 23 Paternal grandmother, age 81, when I was 25 Maternal grandmother, age 88, when I was 26 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/119 "2014-06-13T16:32:06Z")
Both my grandfathers died before I was born. One grandmother died when I was 4, the other when I was 15. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617/120 "2014-06-13T16:40:06Z")
Both grandfathers died before I was born. I was 31 when my mom’s mother died. I was 32 when my dad’s mother died. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-when-you-lost-your-last-grandparent/439617.md?page=7)