Nothing "prepared" the widow of TV host Harry Gration, who passed away unexpectedly last year, according to her.
The former host of BBC Yorkshire's Look North news program passed away unexpectedly on June 24 at the age of 71.
The "surprise death" of a loved one can be extremely traumatic, according to Helen Gration, who was speaking to BBC Radio Leeds.
She made these remarks as the family made an audio recording of her husband's final stage performance available.
Ten weeks prior to his passing, he performed at York's Theatre Royal with former ITV Calendar presenter Christine Talbot. This performance is featured in the film There's Only One Harry Gration.
She claimed that releasing the album was a part of preserving her husband's legacy, particularly for the couple's three sons, the youngest of whom is three years old.
Helen said, "I would like to make sure that there is a summary out there and a really good place that if in future years they want to go and hear and be reminded of stories Harry used to tell us around the table, they can go and hear and be reminded of them.
She acknowledged that listening to the recording, which is accessible via a podcast and on YouTube, had been emotional.
In a traumatic surprise death, things hit you in ways you had not been prepared for, she said, adding that it is really difficult. Other people will have experienced this.
1978 saw Harry join Look North, and 1982 saw him join the BBC. In 2020, he gave his final performance.
He received a number of honors for his work and was made an MBE in 2013 as part of the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
He had been extremely humble about the admiration the public had for him, according to Helen.
She continued, saying it had been "an incredible gift" how he treated people with respect and how he could make a story relatable.
She said, "I can't think of a time when we went out, maybe for dinner, and weren't stopped by someone wanting to talk to him or take a picture.
While acknowledging that memories can be challenging at times, Helen said she thought the family was incredibly fortunate.
Because of our abundance, she continued, "the boys will be able to draw from some incredible memories at some point when it isn't quite so raw and doesn't quite hurt as much."
