Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

Yes, that is very heartless, especially as it sounds like your great-uncle was making a very difficult and brave statement.

Off topic, but you made me think about how we learn family history. When we're young, it's understandable if parents report the bare dramatic bones of a story, like a tabloid newspaper headline. In my case, one story I learned from my mum was: Man dies of heart attack at age 45 after playing squash

I never asked about this guy but was also never told any more than this, even though it was my uncle. Instead, when appropriate, this one fact would be rolled out again - the guy's entire life reduced to one sentence. And over the years, my mum's focus seemed to imply a disapproval that accumulated like this in my head:-
a mistake
a stupid mistake
a stupid mistake to place importance on sport
a stupid mistake to place importance on masculine sporting prowess

RIP my uncle, who I now wish I had asked about properly.