Very sorry for you and your family's loss. I lost my dad many years ago, and he was by far my best friend and the closest person to me. He was a simple man and I never knew him to tell me a lie, even the smallest one to save my feelings. When he died on the operating table, and was later brought back, he described to me (and only me, because he was embarrassed) what he experienced while he was gone. He recovered and lived several years past that. He made a 360 degree change in his life, seeming to realize much more the importance of taking a neighbor kid fishing, or nursing an animal back to health. It was amazing to me how much he had changed. He was able to glimpse what the next life holds and he wanted to be there. It was, and still is, comforting for me to know that he is happy and somewhere better than this reality. We still fish together in my dreams, every so often, both of us winking because we know it isn't real...but content to let the visit play out...and just catch a few fish together and laugh.