My father ate right up until he couldn’t swallow anymore, not even frozen ice (he would cough and the danger was aspiration at that point) and that was about 3 days before he died. Every patient is different as well as their sufferings :( Luckily, he really had no pain. Some cancer patients have terrible pain, fluid retention, etc. We were encouraged to start giving small doses of morphine during the actual 3 day dying process to help with breathing issues as it does open the airways. He never went into a coma and we could tell he heard us right up until he died (he’d flicker his eyelids or flap a hand if you called his name).
You’re so right about every patient being different. Some are comatose, then suddenly active before death, others quiet but responsive to touch, or comatose until the end. It’s never easy, though, but hospice and other palliative care efforts are wonderful. I’m sorry for your loss, but glad you were there with your father until the end, and he did not suffer.