What is more painful?

Death coming to someone close to you suddenly? Or knowing someone is going to die in few weeks/months because of an illness?

Is that too sadistic a question? Maybe it is. But this kept going in my head for a long time and I had to put it down here. Your thoughts?

What do you do...

...when it saddens you on the news of the demise of a distant relative? Even when you had just "seen" the person couple of times? When there has been no interaction with this person? When there has been no emotional attachment?

It hurts me to think how a person perfectly fine two days before, gets a fever and the next day we hear of the demise.
It hurts me to think that the person was just 40 years old.
It hurts me to think about his wife.
It hurts me to think about his children with the youngest child just 10 months young.
It hurts me to think how suddenly all this happened, how it has left everyone totally shocked and unprepared for this sudden death in the family.

I'm feeling very low today just thinking about it. And it again makes me realize how uncertain life is. You do not know whats in there for your the next day.