Gene Hackman cause of death revealed as sheriff says his wife died from rare virus linked to rodents a week before he did

nypost.com ^ | March 7, 2025 | Priscilla DeGregory and Katherine Donlevy

[V_TWIN]

“They got together in her 20s - plenty of time to have several.”

I don’t know if it’s the case here but not everyone can have children my friend.

My wife and I spent a long time and much money trying and could not.

[The Duke]

"RIP. This is why you have kids. No guarantees, whether today or in days past, but kids are generally the ones who make sure mom and dad are okay."

Here in rural TN one's friends and fellow congregants meet that need every bit as well as biological offspring. Which is a good thing, as my sons have taken root in other parts of the US (although they do call and visit when they can).

There are some fine young men around here who, while in high school, worked around the property for me. They've told me there were times they would have not been able to eat were it not for what I paid them over the years. They've become like sons, and check in on me regularly.

Life in the South is good.

[KittyKares]

I don’t know if it’s the case here but not everyone can have children my friend.

My wife and I spent a long time and much money trying and could not.
_____________________________________________________
Just the other day I heard that people who undergo IVF have extra embryos which are frozen. And if they give permission, other people can adopt them and have them implanted. This might be a solution for others who have difficulty getting pregnant. I don’t know if it is cheaper this way or not. It’s new info to me.

[MayflowerMadam]

He had 3 kids, I’ve read. Not sure if they were from an earlier marriage, or the current one.

[Tammy8]

She died of Hantavirus, dogs don’t get Hantavirus. The dog was in a kennel/crate recovering after veterinary care and died from lack of food and water. They had 2 other dogs that were fine.

[JimRed]

Apparently she was basically his caretaker and had no backup support.

When Mrs. JimRed first became disabled due to a Covid vax reaction that was my situation. We eventually hired a friend (former babysitter from when our boys were young) to help out three mornings a week.

[Zhang Fei]

[Hackman had 3 kids. Obviously, they didn’t give a damn or they would have been there. I lived 3k miles away from my folks, and when dad broke his femur, I dropped everything and was first on the spot. My 2 brothers live 6o and 300 miles away and were too lazy to help.]

---

From his first wife. Who were adults when he met this wife. Even if she had taken care of them as toddlers, unless they had no contact with their biological mother, Hackman’s second wife wasn’t really their mother. With his wealth, Hackman could have had a whole tribe. If I were in his position, I would have either had biological kids with her or adopted babies for her to bring up as her own if infertility was a problem. With or without the age gap, you want someone to comfort your widow in her old age, since women tend to outlive men. Take care of the big things, and the little things, even if not fully addressed, will become insignificant with the passage of time.