Explaining life and after life to a three yo???????

I went to my parents neighbours funeral today,I have known "uncle Ron" all of my life so naturally my ds has known him as his "uncle Ron"also.We didn't tell him that uncle Ron had passed as he passed suddenly and my son gets "very" emotional.Today i slipped up when my dh asked if "aunty"(our neighbours wife) was ok after the funeral.My Ds over heard us talking and began to cry uncontrolably for a few hours and said he wants him to come back (i was heart broken).He is much better this evening and made me laugh when he said "uncle Ron didn't die he's just extinct like the dinosaurs.lol
Do you think its about time i sat him down and explained about dying etc??I still think he is a bit to young even though i do think he understands alot for his age.
My nan is quite ill at the moment and my ds is close to her and we see her often i don't know what i will say when the time comes for us to tell him she has gone.

i have to say hun that, its up to you when you tell him. he will get more and more curious as he gets older and will ask

we lost my nan last january and i told jami (who was 10) and she sat and asked me questions and i answered them
honestly, but i never thought about telling her bout death beforehand

i love the extinct like dinosaurs though. thats a brilliant

Well I had to explain to Charlotte that our rabbit was going to heaven (he was going to be put to sleep). I just said that his heart had stopped beating which means his body doesn't work and he lives in heaven now with the other bunnies that die. I'm not entirley sure she understood fully but does know he won't come back.

My dd is 3 too,I took her with me to lay some flowers on a friends grave and I just said that she had died and had gone up to the sky to be an angel. She seemed happy with that although I don't think she really understood fully.

I would keep it simple, too much detail may confuse the poor little mite evn more.

I haven't had to explain about a relative dying to Emily yet but my best friend died when I was about 5yrs old and I remember my Mam taking me in the garden and showing me the stars. She told me that Julie had gone to play with the stars and that I could look up to the sky every night and say goodnight to her if i wanted. It seemed perfectly ok to me at the time. Not sure if that's any help hun xxx

I lost my daughter at 3wks old and had to tell my 2yr old what had happened.

I read a book which said do not say gone to heaven.
Or has gone to sleep (may inplant a problem with going to sleep as fear of not coming back)