Classmates Who Died Young

[NoMercy]

A bit of a sombre thread but Elvis' anniversary got me thinking yesterday about a school mate of mine who was born the day he died.

Yesterday she would have been 40 but sadly she died at 21 from an unconfirmed drugs overdose.

Another friend, with whom I was very close, died Christmas Eve 1999 from cardiomyopathy. Her death was very sudden. She would have turned 40 on 11 August this year.

Then another classmate who'd had a crush on me for some time died at 27 from a heart defect. He could have gone much earlier had it not been for open heart surgeries.

Lovely people, gone too soon.

Did you lose any school friends way before their time?

[-Talbot-]

Yeah, someone at school who was always jokey, had lots of friends, wasn't bullied in any way shape or form ... killed himself for no apparent reason.

I still often question why.

[Baldric]

Yes, at 16, an Ex-Schoolmate and near(ish) Neighbour, killed in a M/Cycle accident.

[ducksie]

A chap down the road from me started school with me, we were good playground pals, played basketball together, he died before we went on to secondary school, a girl I sat close to, she crashed her car, skid on oil slick (her dad was a pilot and crashed his small plane a while after-accident too) another girl I was in school with was from what we called the orphanage, we thought her Mam came back for her, but she died from cutting her wrists we were to learn later

[NoMercy]

No note left, Talbot?

[dannyk13]

Not a classmate but a close workmate died in his late twenties.

[NoMercy]

Sometimes I can't help wondering what they'd be doing now.

I still stay in contact with one of their mums and she puts up a special Christmas tree every year in her memory. Each decoration on the tree was bought by one of her friends.

[snags]

Aged around 8, my best mate died after falling out of his bedroom window.

[queenofmean]

Yes. She was only 24.

She was a lovely lively woman. Beautiful eyes and hair was killed in a car crash a few years ago.

She was a promising young trainee surgeon.

I believe Minty came upon her accident. I take comfort that someone I knew was there at a time someone else I knew needed her.

[NoMercy]

That's awful, Snags. How does a parent ever come to terms with that?

[Prudie]

I'm not aware of any classmates but a few friends from my 20s met tragic accidental deaths. I did teach in a secondary school for 10 years though and there were more than I'd expect killed in motorbike or car crashes before they hit 21. So sad as I'd known them as naughty 4th formers.

[andy-hughes]

Likewise Prudie, I lost friends after school ended.

One was a fellow DJ at our local night club - he hung himself on a Thursday night, so I had to cover his Friday and Saturday slots, it was so hard, I came home and cried buckets both nights.

[Islay]

A very close friend of my brother and I who was an aspiring actor died by jumping out of a hospital window whilst high on drugs.
My elder brothers best mate and family friend died a in motorcycle crash with the local driving school instructor, he didn't die immediately and suffered greatly whilst waiting for an ambulance to get to him on a distance country road.

they will never be forgotten by the families that miss them everyday and they are often talked about in our family.

[Sqad]

No not for me.....for some reason I cannot grieve.
Seen death in so many situations.....children, adults, family, friends.......it means very little to me.

When we had to put our dog and cat (airborne), I was devastated, but humans........no effect.

[ummmm]

Too many people. Not just school friends but people who died before their time regardless of age.

[jno]

a classmate of mine celebrated his A levels by going on a climbing holiday but fell off a cliff.

[hereIam]

Sqad, I once thought there was nothing worse than losing a beloved pet, until I lost both parents, and then I realised how very wrong I was ...

[Sqad]

HereIam....fair enough.
When my biological mother died I felt very little.
When my grandma and grandad (who brought me up) I felt little....but you are correct........perhaps i will feel different if Mrs sqad dies before me (unlikely)
If any of my sons die or my grandchildren........I will feel very little..believe me.

[hereIam]

Is that because you are not close to them then ?

[-SharonA-]

Yes, a few. I get shocked when I hear of these deaths. Some have died in car accidents, a couple from cancer and one was murdered, stabbed.