I agree that the grieving process may play a role here. Even a person in his or her 80s can benefit from grief counseling or support groups.

However, in my family's case, 22 years is enough time for my aunt to grieve. People in general felt badly for her for about two years and then when she just kept turning into more of a witch at age 52 or 53, she lost a lot of her friends. Of course, this was a pattern for her whole life. My uncle just kept her in check when he was still alive. In retrospect, I think she has some kind of personality disorder; my grandfather was diagnosed with one very late in his life. Thankfully, my mom was the total opposite of her sister.