You are so correct about buying life insurance. In 1978 my 33 year old husband died instantly from a heart attack leaving me with a young son and no life insurance to help us. I had to get a bank loan to pay for his funeral - had to use my car as collateral. After 2 weeks off, I had to return to work just to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. I’m not complaining about working (I’ve never been without employment) but it drastically changed our lifestyle without my late husbands salary and I really didn’t have a breather to grieve. It was a very rough period in my life.
I'm sorry to hear you went through this. It is a rough period indeed. My husband died at 38. I had a little policy on him. Even though it was not a lot of money, it was enough to keep my son and I going until the VA and SS benefits kicked in and let me keep working in my small law office for awhile, and working from home, rather than having to look for a job with a steadier income. That said, it's difficult no matter what.