My own parents both took the news "lying down" as Devlyn put it. No issues there.
My mother might have been okay with it, or she might have put on an okay face to me but complained to my brothers. Hard to say. My father would have said, "Oh, I'm not interested in that stuff," his standard answer to anything outside of the box.
My in-laws were both very much alive. Initially, my wife thought it would be best not to tell them. We didn't visit much together: when she goes to visit, I usually stay home to look after the dog and cats. We could have gotten away with it for a while.
But they were both in their 90s and in failing health. Being realistic, I pointed out that, in the not too distant future, there would be a funeral, and it would not be right for me not to go. And I could never go back to boy mode, so I would have to go as Kathy. A funeral would not be the time to come out of the closet, so we told them.
They were great! Totally accepting and happy for me. They scored 100% on my name, and only had a few slip-ups on pronouns. My mother-in-law even gave me a beautiful necklace the first time I visited as myself. It makes me weepy just thinking about it.
There has since been a funeral, and, as it turns out, I couldn't go. But the relief of having both my in-laws know me as myself has been wonderful. My father-in-law gets my name right every time I answer the phone when he calls.
