Yes Sal....it is something that stays with you forever and with time "healing".
As I explained some years ago to my 17 yr old daughter when her Grandfather died (she was extremely close to him) there is a "healing process" I call the "Sad, Mad, Glad"....but never taking the "Glad" light-heartedly.
First you are in shock and "Sad". Once this shock/sadness wears off you reach a "Mad" stage. Mad at the world because your loved one is no longer there, mad at them possibly for "leaving you", etc. Then you "rock back and forth between "sad and mad" til you dventually reach the "Glad" which means you reach a stage of "acceptability" of what has happened.
Life becomes "acceptable" once again....no...never to be the same but..."acceptable". It's important that you dont get "stuck" on any one of these stages except of course.....the final one where life is again acceptable.
I had to learn this when I went through a heart-breaking divorce because I learned from that experience that some divorces can be equated to a death. It's the "death of a relationship" even though there is no "physical" death. You have to let go of the pain so you can go on and live again. Most certainly our loved ones would not want us to live the rest of our lives in misery.
To let go of that "pain" is not a dishonor to them or their memory but rather an "honor". To honor them with a fulfilled life of happiness and cherished memories of a "time when". This is why they say......Time Heals. Just takes time.
