Perhaps those who are shouting for the thread to be closed are those for whom death and dying really are a taboo. Even Christinaity seems to have changed in recent years - in my days brought up as a Catholic, it was seen as a natural event, and just a step on the road to (hopefully) heaven. Modern born-agains and plastic jesus huggers seem less comfortable with death per se; they certainly seem to mention it less, and there's less of a ritual surrounding it.
A shame really. because everyone posting here, even the Villan and Georgian Silver, is going to die. How sad if that death s covered up and not mentioned. If it's cancer, how sad if people can't even bring themselves to talk about it, prefering cop-outs like"The Big C" and other weasel words.
Black humour is a great safety valve. I've found it very helpful in dealing with situations where otherwise it would have been a sure-fire PTSD situation, and it's found everywhere where people have to deal with the worst - the Forces, the police, medics, coastguards, undertakers. It's what helps keep them sane and actually makes them better human beings.
So please stop being so precious.