The passing of Gene Hackman has led to an unexpected twist in his funeral plans.

Iconic for his role in ‘The French Connection’, the actor was found deceased at his Santa Fe home, aged 95, in February. Alongside him were his 65 year old wife, Betsy Arakawa, and one of their pets. Gene’s nephew, Tim Hackman, revealed that they had initially planned on Betsy coordinating his funeral due to the couple’s age gap of three decades which implied he would predecease her. Now, in light of recent events, it appears Gene’s offspring will have to assume responsibility for the funeral’s organisation.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Tim expressed uncertainty about the future, stating: “Now with this, it significantly changes things. I have no idea what – I’m assuming one of his kids will probably take over – and [plan]. I don’t know. It’s still very, very early,”. Tim, whose father Richard often doubled for Gene in stunts and is also Genes brother, expressed the familys astonishment at the news, as there was no prior knowledge of any grave health concerns except Gene’s advanced age: “I mean, he was old. I’m sure he had some [health] concerns, but nothing that was shared,” he divulged.

The passing of Gene Hackman has led to an unexpected twist in his funeral plans ( 
Image:
Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

Iconic for his role in ‘The French Connection’, the actor was found deceased at his Santa Fe home alongside his wife ( 
Image:
Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Although Tim had not seen Gene since his own father’s funeral many years before, he insisted that the star of ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ had not become estranged from the family. He suggested Gene chose instead to live a quiet life away from the public eye. Contracted through contact with infected rodents, the disease carries a high fatality rate. The CDC has reported that 38% of those who experience respiratory symptoms may succumb to the illness.

Gene and Betsy, died just seven days apart before being found in their home a week later. The couple were both found dead, alongside their dog, Zinna. It was confirmed last week that Betsy, 65, died on February 11 from Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome – a rat-borne disease – on February 11 before Gene died around February 18. Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden has now explained a potential reason as to why the couple weren’t found for so long, detailing, “I think what [happened] here is he didn’t realize it and … didn’t understand that she was dead. He didn’t understand that he needed to call 911.”

Medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel added to the outlet: ‘If he was incapable of calling 911, and getting her seen, and just sat there for a week, then he either went into a state of great despondency or was somehow incapacitated himself. Or his Alzheimer’s was so severe that he was incapable of even noticing what was going on”.

While suffering from late-stage Alzheimer’s, Gene was being looked after by his wife in the time prior to their tragic deaths – with a friend saying that the award-winning actor would have died “long ago” if Betsy wasn’t there to look after him.

Gene and Betsy, died just seven days apart before being found in their home a week later ( 
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
While Gene’s cause of death is stated as heart disease, his advanced Alzheimer’s is also cited as a contributing factor. And continuing his analysis, Dr. Baden told Fox news: “It sounded like he kind of wandered around, was able to drink water from… [the] kitchen sink or even get some food out of the refrigerator… [he] probably couldn’t cook anything but could eat bread or something if he was hungry.”