Best of Beth Ashley: After a life well lived, facing the sadness together

Best of Beth Ashley: After a life well lived, facing the sadness together 
Marin Independent Journal; by Beth Ashley, this MIJ is reprinting some of the late Beth Ashley’s columns. This column is from 2014, reprinted in MIJ 10/27/25 
A dear friend is now being cared for by hospice. Like so many others, she has trusted hospice to see her through the last days of her life. Knowing that she may soon die is a blow to the heart. But it’s not as though I haven’t known that for all of us, life ends sometimes. That doesn’t make it any easier. By now, a huge assortment of dear ones have left my here and now. My parents are gone. My beloved second husband. My two sisters. My precious son Jeff. And so many friends I’ve lost count, including my best friend and fellow traveler for years and years, my Stanford classmate Skid. I still talk to them all. My mom has not really left my life; I’m just with her in a different way. ... Whenever these endings come near, it’s important to express our love, and face the final sadness together.