Posted on 09/02/2025 5:05:34 AM PDT by LouAvul
He had deteriorated to the point he could no longer take care of himself and was totally dependent upon his wife. She passed and they had nobody who checked on them. Gene died a terrible death.
How can an isolated elderly couple avoid such a fate? In a scenario where one suffers diminished mental capability and the other becomes the sole caregiver?
What kind of precautions could they take to prepare for a worst case scenario?
Assume no kids. Nobody locally who might regularly drop by.
People who want to be left alone eventually become alone. He left his kids near nothing in the will, so they may have chosen to isolate him from their lives.
Exactly, he chose to isolate himself, and he reaped what he sowed.
! FEELZ !
Elder-care COVID scenario.
Pop-culture...messy.
#pureblood
We are all aware of those “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” buttons.
Once you’ve hit a certain age, it would be wise to get one. The monthly fees are reasonable. Just do a bit of research first. Pick a good company.
For a small additional fee, many of these companies will call you once a day for a welfare check. You get to pick the time. If you don’t answer, they send police and paramedics.
And they will suspend the call if you tell them you’ll be away from the house at your chosen time.
Such an arrangement would obviously have been of great value to the Hackmans.
The Hackman scenario is identical to a younger brother’s circumstances except we found and removed him shortly after his wife passed. He was emaciated, demented and barely mobile. His home was a literal horror show. Had lived in nice home in suburbia for 20 years, no friends, isolated, neighbors rarely saw either he or his wife. He is now in assisted living and doing ok with advancing dementia. Isolation is a killer.
How to avoid this?
Church family.
The Hackmans were probably OK with the way it ended.
life isn't always pleasant once you reach a certain age.
His wife was only 63. He was ‘covered’. She didn’t have to die first.
Way ahead of him. My 3 nieces will take their turn every 3rd morning emailing me and ask how I am. If they don’t get a response they’ll send their husbands over to ‘check’.
Maybe he was happy with his wife in their own world. At least he didn’t die in a hospice, a hospital room or dying from cancer.
Or suffering til the end because of the opinions of strangers who have no idea about his values and desires.
Maybe he wasn’t in his right mind when he chose to be “alone.” Jeez, have some compassion.
Yep. Sucks to be him. Man, FReepers are hard asses.
I could go a full week with out opening that up.
So their love was a financial transaction. Probably more like the kids, poisoned by the mom, resented the hell out of him marrying that new woman and never treated that marriage with respect.
He lived a quiet life away from Hollywood and mobs… there’s no word he refused to interact with his kids. Far more likely that the kids wanted an early inheritance in the form of him paying for their lives as adults. And they wanted to be sure his money didn’t go to the wife he married in 91.
People only think they know about the inner workings of a marriage, or between adults children and their parents.
Well... If you have the kind of money Gene Hackman had... You should hire 24 nursing care... Problem solved.
Living cheap when you are old and yet you have millions you could spend... Isn’t a good idea. You can’t take it with you so you may as well spend it while you can.
Once again… you win the thread.
Such a horrible way to go for such a great actor. I realize he chose to be alone, but I’m still saddened at his passing.
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