Quite often in the obituary there is a request that donations, if desired, be given to a certain foundation or charity. Often the charity chosen gives a clue as the nature of the cause of death. In Saturday s paper it was the Canadian Cancer society, the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan. These folk have probably been ill for a while, at least long enough that their death wouldn t be considered sudden, although certain cancers can strike with rapidity. The new minister at Mistawasis, Trudy Meyer, who we installed on Jan. 16 of this year passed away within a month and a half with little warning from cancer.
Some folk die accidentally as a result of their own misadventures.
Others deliberately take their own lives. Some watch patiently as their bodies slowly wear out and seek the relief that leaving their bodies brings. For others, death can strike almost within an instant and without warning, leaving families and friends battered with grief and shock. For most of recorded history people have sought reasons for these senseless deaths. Sometime in the middle ages there was a powerful earthquake in Portugal which killed thousands of people.