==== Front Innov Aging Innov Aging innovateage Innovation in Aging 2399-5300 Oxford University Press US 10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2050 igaa057.2050 Abstracts Session 5670 (Symposium) AcademicSubjects/SOC02600 Memories of a Grandparent’s Death: Preparation for Future Losses Bolkan Cory 1 Weaver Raven 2 1 Washington State University, Vancouver, Washington, United States 2 Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, United States 2020 16 12 2020 16 12 2020 4 Suppl 1 Program Abstracts from The GSA 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting “Turning 75: Why Age Matters”606 607 © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.2020This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Abstract Experiences of death in early life may result in identity-defining memories that last a lifetime. Autobiographical memories serve psychosocial functions, acting as guides for future behavior. Understanding early death experiences may thus inform lifelong personal views about death, dying, and bereavement. We queried 50 adults (ages 19 – 67 years) using a structured set of questions to recall and write about their earliest and most significant losses. The narratives were qualitatively analyzed using the constant comparative method associated with grounded theory. Results indicated a grandparent’s death was the most frequently reported significant loss, reflecting the value of intergenerational relationships and the long-lasting impact of grandparent death. Themes also emerged concerning participants’ reports of the benefits of actively remembering and reflecting on loss, as well as learning from others’ losses, which further deepened their views of death. These findings highlight how early memories of death, including one's grandparents, can have lifelong impact.