we had a coworker die last month. No one knew she was ill. She was working from home. And she "left the company" and 3 weeks later was dead. I say all this to mean that sometimes you have no idea if someone is dying. Work put her on disability for those last 3 weeks so she could pull a paycheck. HR knew. but until they announced her death most of us assumed she had gotten a new job.

All that being said I am also curious as to how much hospice work the coworkers are doing. Are you helping someone go to the bathroom safely? are you making sure they don't fall when they walk? are you giving them meds and wiping their butt? (sorry for the TMI.. but it is so unclear in this letter) Where is management and HR (if there is HR) in this? I have old farts who are retired but come to work every day and we maintain their offices... and once an older retired man whose office was near me fell and he took a cartload of books down on top of himself. He wanted me to lift him by myself, but I ran for his secretary bc NO ONE should be lifting an 80 yr old man by themselves. He finally stopped coming in when he fell at home and no one could get him up. there is a HUGE difference between a person say.. getting chemo and going to work (if they can and feel up to it) and a person lying in a hospital bed at the end of life. Where in the timeline are they exactly?