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Does nobody die anymore?

Strange that Izzy brought this subject up as only few weeks ago I had similar discussion. Whilst I believe we should say things as they are we also have to consider the person to whom we are talking, considering their sensitivity. certainly to say someone has died, to me seems more 'brutal' than saying they have passed away.
A few weeks ago our daughter rang me and told me that our eldest grandson had "hung himself". We were obviously devastated as he had four lovely children and a lovely wife. But as I was talking with our Pastor asking for prayer for the family, the question arose as to whether we should say to others that he had committed suicide, which doesn't seem to sound so stark.
As far as I'm concerned we say it as it is
 
johnny082 said:
Strange that Izzy brought this subject up as only few weeks ago I had similar discussion. Whilst I believe we should say things as they are we also have to consider the person to whom we are talking, considering their sensitivity. certainly to say someone has died, to me seems more 'brutal' than saying they have passed away.
A few weeks ago our daughter rang me and told me that our eldest grandson had "hung himself". We were obviously devastated as he had four lovely children and a lovely wife. But as I was talking with our Pastor asking for prayer for the family, the question arose as to whether we should say to others that he had committed suicide, which doesn't seem to sound so stark.
As far as I'm concerned we say it as it is
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Gods Blessings to you and your daughter’s families! I believe you should say whatever you feel comfortable with regardless of what others say.
 
jukebox said:
When my mother-in-law died about eight years ago a nurse at Heartlands phoned my wife and informed her 'I'm sorry to say that your mother has taken her last breath.' My wife said 'you mean she's dead' to which the nurse replied 'well shall we say she has passed on!
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I just don't get it either. The one certainty we all have is that we'll die - obviously not me because when I heard you can't take it with you I decided not to go then !
 
izzy eckerslike said:
The American euphemism for death "passed" "past away" or even worse "passed on" has now become the norm, even newsreaders on TV seem to be using it and I have to ask why?
A coroner for e.g. is not allowed to use such words and probably doctors also have to inform you a person has died and not passed away.
A friend down the road told me their dog has just passed on and I was left wondering what the heck is going on. So what is wrong with saying a person or animal has died as has been used for centuries?
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Totally agree. Tell it like it is.
 
Pedrocut said:
Looking on YouTube at a description of the Church of St Leonard in Thorpe. The narrator read a memorial that was from 1845.
“She sweetly fell asleep…”
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I think this is about awareness: certainly in 1845 we knew little about subtleties being said in the next town let alone another country and for the most part 1945 as well. It is the explosion of communication, radio television, wired and mobile phones, the internet etc that our awareness has expanded dramatically. What we feel is a new saying is new to us but has actually been the all the time. Certainly in Pedro post for 180 years, hardly new in anyone’s thought process.
 
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