"We don't have any answers, and we're just dealing with the loss," Barbara Lenihan tells PEOPLE Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa's deaths took even their friends by surprise. Days after the legendary actor,

Unseen for much of the last two decades, Hackman won Oscars for The French Connection (1971) and Clint Eastwood ‘s Unforgiven (1992), and was Oscar-nominated for roles in Bonnie and Clyde (1967), I Never Sang for My Father (1970), and Mississippi Burning (1988). Awards notwithstanding, the respected and admired Hackman had a wide range.

Authorities said there were no obvious signs of foul play but the circumstances of their deaths warranted further investigation.