I've seen it quite a bit so far in my life.
My great uncle, my best friend, a girl down the street, my father, and my uncle are the ones that had the most impact on me.
There were also many people I knew in school that died as well.
It's a part of life. Anything that is born will be subjected to aging, sickness, and death. I think that people in general make this much harder on themselves in that as a society we avoid the reality of death. Everyone knows they will die, yet it's not something that they truly "know" inside. Also, the belief that there is an eternal heaven or hell makes things even worse. Thinking this is our only life with such an extreme end result is generally not something people enjoy. Many people are troubled by this eternal fate concept regardless of how they actually lived. Despite thinking that they have "gone to a better place" or whatever else, people are very distraught. Of course this is due to the feeling that you're losing something vital, although it never belonged to you to begin with
. There are countless examples of these types of situations, so i'll leave it at this.
In the end, a huge shock results because of the aversion we harbor.
Don't take this as negativity. I simply mean to say that we should cherish things while they last, but do note that they will not last in the end. All things follow this pattern. It's not a sad thing and should not be noted as such. It's just another law of nature like gravity. Simply don't grasp and cause yourself misery; there is a time for letting go and moving on.