TV chef Simon Rimmer lost his dad two months after he himself turned 60.
Speaking on a podcast a year or so later, he revealed that reaching the landmark age had created an angst in him, which he was only able to come to terms with after his dad died.
His dad was his “hero”, and he “never wants” to get over his death.
Last year, he sat down with bereavement expert Jason Davidson to talk about his unique method of processing, and coping with, the grief he carries.
Simon Rimmer opens up on last day of his dad’s life
Simon’s dad, Peter Rimmer, passed away a day short of his 90th birthday.
The family were all there with him, sharing the last day of his life. They told stories, they laughed. They cried. For 24 hours, Simon said, they watched him fade away.
Simon was speaking with bereavement expert Jason Davidson during an episode of On the Marie Curie Couch. And that’s the word he used: faded.
“My dad just faded. He wasn’t ill, per se. He’d had a couple of heart operations, he’d got less and less mobile. He just faded and faded. He fell, took a blow to the head and had a bleed on the brain.
“On 29 June [2023], a day short of his 90th birthday, he died. All of us were there for 24 hours. We shared the last day of Dad’s life. We told stories, and we laughed and we cried.”
Dealing with ‘sadmin’ – ‘it’s a very strange thing’
Simon said it was a very strange experience, having to deal with the various bits of admin that came up immediately after his dad’s death.
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