How old was he? Was he apparently healthy before the stones?
I sometimes wonder, if it's easier to grieve a long illness or a sudden death... both are hard. I'm sure sorry for your family.
He was only 67, and I don't think he'd had any heart trouble, so my younger sister convinced my sister-in-law to allow an autopsy. Our Dad died suddenly, at the age of 64, and my Mama wouldn't let them do an autopsy, so we never really knew what happened, because he was alone at our Fishing Camp at the time. We have three other brothers, and George has four sons, so it would be good for all of them to know if there are any congenital conditions for which they could be prepared.
My father stood up one day and fell down dead. My mother went wacky in 1995 and her body died in 1998.
I don't know which way was easier ... when my father died, I was angry --- blindingly, bitterly, viciously angry --- for weeks afterward; that's how I grieve, apparently. When my mother died, everyone remarked on my composure ... when all I could think was that she'd truly left this existence years before.
People being what we are, I guess it's not how you leave, it's the fact that you did leave that's so hard.