# Poll: Dopers' Grandparents **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 27, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099 "2005-10-27T01:45:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/21 "2005-10-27T03:36:32Z")
a. 31 b. no. c. Maternal grandmother 8 years before I was born. Both grandfathers at 6. Paternal grandmother at 30. A. How old are you? B. Are any of your grandparents alive? (if so, which?) C. If they’re not, how old were you when they died? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/22 "2005-10-27T03:47:43Z")
47, b. 1958 maternal gf: 1896 - 1965 gm: 1896 - 1984 paternal gf: 1890 - 1948 (his dad was in the civil war!) gm: 1888 - 1977 ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/23 "2005-10-27T03:47:48Z")
1. I’m 27 (28 in 2 weeks) 2. Yes: 2 of the 4 are still alive (both grandfathers) 3. My maternal grandmother died in 1988 at the age of 62 from lung cancer. My paternal grandmother died in 2002 at 75. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/24 "2005-10-27T03:55:11Z")
A. How old are you? **47** B. Are any of your grandparents alive? (if so, which?) **no** C. If they’re not, how old were you when they died? **my Mom’s mom died in '99 when I was 41, and she 93** Bonus Info: My Dad’s Mom’s Mom — my great-grandma — died in '73 a couple weeks before my 15th birthday ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/25 "2005-10-27T03:56:19Z")
a. 47 b. no c. -5, 4, 19, 27 ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/26 "2005-10-27T04:10:03Z")
**A. How old are you?** 19 **B. Are any of your grandparents alive? (if so, which?)** Yes, my maternal grandmother **C. If they’re not, how old were you when they died?** Paternal grandfather died four years before I was born; maternal grandfather died when I was maybe five; paternal grandmother died last fall (when I was 18). ---
**Author:** ![Giant\_Spongess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@Giant\_Spongess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giant_Spongess)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/27 "2005-10-27T04:18:22Z")
**A. How old are you?** 21 **B. Are any of your grandparents alive? (if so, which?)** One, my maternal grandmother (she’s 88, I think) **C. If they’re not, how old were you when they died?** Paternal grandfather died before I was born. Paternal grandmother died when I was 13. Maternal grandmother died when I was 15. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/28 "2005-10-27T04:36:34Z")
A. 37 B. Three of my grandparents are still living. C. My dad’s dad died when I was 25. ---
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/29 "2005-10-27T04:41:19Z")
A) 32 B) 3. Both paternal grandparents still living, maternal grandmother still living. C) Maternal grandfather died when I was 29. Bonus Round: I knew 2 of my great-grandmothers, one died when I was twelve, the other when I was 24! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/30 "2005-10-27T04:45:01Z")
> [@Silver Fire](#): > > I still had a great-grandparent until recently; my mother’s grandmother died a year or so ago. My mom is 46 years old. FTR, I had great-grandparents (maternal grandfather’s parents) much longer than grandmothers. My great-grandfather died when I was 11, and my great-grandmother outlived her son by four months, dying just before I turned 19. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/31 "2005-10-27T05:12:32Z")
A. How old are you? 22 B. Are any of your grandparents alive? (if so, which?) Yes, my maternal and paternal grandmothers, as well as my paternal Great Grandma (who turned 96 this year). C. If they’re not, how old were you when they died? Grandpa died in 2001, I was 18. Granddaddy passed on in 1997, I was 14. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/32 "2005-10-27T05:38:29Z")
a. 40 b. None still living c. I never met mom’s dad (he died when I was a wee one); or dad’s mom (she died when he was just two). The others I didn’t see very often; one died when I was in my 20s and the other when I was in my 30s. ---
**Author:** ![Stinkum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Stinkum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stinkum)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/33 "2005-10-27T05:41:40Z")
44 no Paternal grandfather died when I was about 2 (I think of a heart attack, don’t know the age). Maternal grandmother died when I was 12 of a stroke at age 73. Paternal grandmother died when I was 16 of pneumonia at about age 85 (don’t know exact age). Maternal grandfather died when I was 23 of complications from a stroke, but he had Alzheimer’s. He was 73. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/34 "2005-10-27T05:51:42Z")
16/17 Yes, three. My paternal grandfather died of throat cancer when I was 2. I never met him (there were plans to take me to see him, but I was sick and then he died). My maternal grandmother has inoperable cancer right now but she’s not really dying. My paternal grandmother got cancer a few years ago but it seems to be gone now. Out of all my living grandparents she’s the only one that’s really healthy. I would not be that surprised if the other two kicked the bucket without warning ☹ ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/35 "2005-10-27T08:42:14Z")
I’m 36. None of my grandparents are currently living. Both grandfathers died before I was born. My maternal grandmother died when I was 18; my paternal grandmother died this past summer when I was 35. I also was fortunate enough to know one great-grandmother, who passed away when I was 14. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/36 "2005-10-27T08:51:37Z")
a) 27 b) Both of my mum’s parents are still alive, and in fairly good health, at 82 and 83. I’ve never met my dad, so don’t know about his side of the family. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/37 "2005-10-27T10:34:19Z")
I’m 23 I have one living grandparent, she will celebrate her 90th birthday on Saturday. Both my paternal grandparents died before I was born, my grandmother at the age of 60 from breast cancer (it was the 1970s and if she’d been diagnosed now she would have survived) and my grandfather at the age of 68 from a massive stroke (this was in the 1960s). My maternal grandfather died 5 years before I was born from a massive stroke, he was 78, and if he was still alive now would be 106…which is unlikely, to say the least. A factor you haven’t considered is how old your grandparents were when they had children, and how old your parents were when they had you. For example, my maternal grandmother was 30 when she had my father, and my paternal grandfather was in his late 40s. My materal grandfather was 51 when my mother was born, and my maternal grandmother was 35. My parents were 32 and 38 when they had me, and I’m the eldest of 3. All of them had children much later than average when compared to their contemporaries, making it much less likely that any grandparents would have survived. Parents who have children later in life are obviously more likely to die when their children are younger. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/38 "2005-10-27T10:49:33Z")
45 Not any more Maternal grandfather when I was 15. Maternal grandmother about 3-4 years later (not sure, for some reason). Paternal grandfather bored to death by snooker on TV [sup]1[/sup] when I was 22-ish. Paternal grandmother when I was 26, by which time I think she may have been a great-great from at least one of my cousins (I was nearly the last of my generation of her descendants). 1 Well, technically an aortic aneurism at the age of about 88, but he was watching the snooker on TV at the time. Given that he survived a lot of his contemporaries on the Somme by about 67 years, I don’t think he minded too much. ---
**Author:** ![nonacetone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonacetone/32/2819_2.png) [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/39 "2005-10-27T10:51:05Z")
A. How old are you? 42 B. Are any of your grandparents alive? (if so, which?) Maternal Grandmother (She’ll be 90 soon and in good health) C. If they’re not, how old were you when they died? Maternal Grandfather died when I was 35. Paternal Grandfather died when I was 16. Paternal Grandmother died when I was 40. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099/40 "2005-10-27T10:55:11Z")
I’m 29 My paternal grandmother is still alive. My paternal grandfather dies when I was 5. My maternal grandmother died when I was 3 My maternal grandfather died 26 years before I was born [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-grandparents/328099.md?page=3)