Member-only story
My Ex-Sister-in-Law Died
Dealing with death
I hoped for a year without death, but that didn’t happen. My ex-sister-in-law (we were once married to brothers) passed on January 30th.
She beat cancer about 25 years ago. It returned in 2023. She did all the typical treatments and was in remission. I didn’t know it returned late last year. I didn’t know she was hospitalized or that her larynx was removed. She lived 100 miles away. We mostly communicated by text. She never told me. An eternal optimist, maybe she didn’t want to share bad news.
I was shocked when her husband called on the 31st to say she was gone. The cancer didn’t kill her directly — a burst blood vessel was the culprit. He was there when it happened. A horrific scene seared in his brain.
It’s been difficult to accept her death in addition to still dealing with Ben’s. I’m sad that I hadn’t seen her since before the pandemic. I’m sad for her husband and her children and grandchildren. I’m just plain sad.
She was only 68. Mother to two, grandmother to four. Very creative, an outstanding homemaker, and a friend to many. When I called my daughter with the news, we cried together.
I am so tired of tears. I’ve been in an almost constant mode of crying or almost crying for nearly nine months.
I hoped for a year without death...
© Dennett 2025
