DEAR ABBY: Do you think my mother's brother and his wife should be invited to my parents' 50th wedding anniversary dinner when, three years ago, they failed to acknowledge the death of my brother? My uncle claimed illness for not visiting the funeral home or attending the funeral. They never sent flowers or even a card. (And their granddaughter owns a card shop!)
They live nearby, and when we saw them later at other family functions, they never offered anyone in our immediate family their condolences. -- HURT AND ANGRY IN PENNSYLVANIA
DEAR HURT AND ANGRY: Please do not be so quick to judge. People grieve in their own way. Not everyone is comfortable attending funerals, and your uncle and his wife may have been afraid to bring up the subject of your brother's death for fear of causing you even more pain.
Unless your parents wish to single these relatives out for exclusion, they should be invited.