My first funeral march

This morning, my downstairs neighbor passed away. She had been ill lately and in and out of the hospital. In Cape Verde, the burial is held the same day as the death (if possible) because there is no preserving of the body. So, at 5pm, we joined her funeral march. Her husband, the famous music composer Manuel D'Novas, did not join the march, but we did pass the house after walking through town and he watched from the window as his wife's casket passed. He cried and wailed. It was probably the most heartbreaking thing I've seen in a long time. Imagining an elderly couple being separated by death is so sad. He was overwhelmed at the loss of his wife. I can't imagine how he will continue with such a deep sense of loss and saddness for his wife of so many years.