Observations placeholder

The Art of Dying – Drs Peter and Elizabeth Fenwick

John Pennington had [this] experience when his father died in October 2006, aged 91, and this is one of the few cases when more than one of those present observed the phenomenon at the same time. In this case John, his sister and his son all felt the same breeze blow into the room.

My sister Margaret was sitting immediately next to the window and my son was on the other side. Dad suddenly closed his eyes and mouth for the last time and then they slowly opened again, as his face relaxed and it never moved again. Just as that happened, Margaret cried out a little in surprise. That was because the curtains had suddenly blown up and inwards as a draught entered, the room. My son also saw and felt it too and none of us could explain it. The window was open a little way and, although the day was not completely still outside, and there was a little wind about, the partially closed curtains had not moved at all through-out the morning.

My wife is convinced that someone, hopefully my mother, came for him at that moment. I am a natural sceptic and am aware that people are looking for comfort at such times, but I cannot explain it and it seems to be just too much of a coincidence really, so I believe something like that happened as well. It is hard not to think that.