Along the same lines but with a focus on consideration for the children:
My father died when he was 46 of nothing more than 20 or so years of consistent alcohol poisoning. I found a group called Adult Children of Alcoholics in my early twenties. Not all of the people there had alcoholic parents. A good percentage came from families like that of the O.P. They were referred by friends, therapists, church associates, etc. because they had similar problems. They had the same kinds of stories as those who grew up with alcoholics.Things like, extreme family dramas including alienation/isolation from family, suicides ,alcohol & drug abuse or eating disorders including bulimia and anorexia,gambling problems, inability to form constructive relationships,failing professionally despite intelligence and/or education, following in their parents footsteps, ect. The ones that were able to straiten some of this stuff out were the lucky ones. By taking some of the advice on this thread maybe these negative possibilities can be avoided or mitigated early on.