I Read Obituaries

I admit it. I read obituaries. I am a habitual about reading obituaries. There, I said it. I admitted it publically. Go ahead, judge me. Or not, and read on.

Obituaries provide comentary as well as archival information. They are in essence, the last testament of a life. They are not only a person's record of living and dying but can be a tribute, a celebration of life, one's essence of being, living and dying. Often times, an obituary is also a geneology, and tells the story of one's life. A short history of record, birth, living, one's accomplishments and finally, dying; the passing of a human being and the spirit of their life. A once living, breathing person who was a child, young adult, man, woman, brother, sister, cousin, aunt(y), uncle, mother, father, grand-mother, grand-father, neighbor, friend, rival (enemy), mate, co-worker, teacher, student, acquaintance, stranger in someone's (your) life. Often mutiple things on this list, and other "somethings" as well, that I may have missed.

I don't just read the obituaries of people I know, but of the last record of ordinary, everyday people that I've never even met. And famous people, too. Famous people and well-known, people on the local and regional level, as well as national and international arenas. People from just down the street, the next town or state, from around the world who may be well-known people or just the garden variety of every day unknown people. Weird, huh? But then again not - I think. Obituaries are history, a human being's story of their path in life: a "freeze dried" summary for print, for public record. History at its most personal level. No one should go un-noticed or unrecorded. No one. And for some, the only public recognition for most of us, the only public acclaim for living is the obituary. And they should be read - their last chance to be noticed, appreciated or recognized. The last record of existance on earth.

I read the obits in the local paper(s) where I live, and when I am out of town or traveling, I read my local obituaries on-line. I sometimes puruse the regional papers, just out of plain curiosity. My favorite, obviously for some who understand this habit, are the obituaries in the New York Times newspaper. The Rolls Royce of obituary aclaim. I have been know to pursue the obits in the York Daily Record (my hometown paper), Chicago Tribune and the Seattle Times, as well and frequently I might add. For example, from NYT Obituaries, on March 4, 2009:














Update 5:20 p.m. Horton Foote, who chronicled America’s wistful odyssey through the 20th century in plays and films mostly set in a small town in Texas and left a literary legacy as one of the country’s foremost storytellers, died in Hartford, Conn., on Wednesday. He was 92, said his daughter, Hallie Foote. (Who knew? How else would ordinary people know?)

The Society of Professional Obituary Writers (SPOW), is the professional organization created for folks who "write about the dead for a living." Most members are journalists, who work for news organizations. From their website: "We want those who write articles about the recently deceased to regard obituaries as once-in-a-lifetime stories that should be researched, reported and penned with as much care and attention as any other newsroom assignment." They are a fledgling organization in development, by self admission, with membership, development activities, an on-line forum, and an annual conference (April 2010). And awards, inlcuding the Lifetime Achievement Award (2008) to Jim Nicholson from the Philadelphia Daily News. There are a few examples of his obits provided. The Best Celebrity Obituary (Long) in 2007, was awarded to Sandra Martin from the Globe and Mail, for her obit on The Honest Ed Story - Mr. Toronto dies at 92. There is also the Best Average Joe Obituary (Long), awarded to Tom Hawthorne in 2007, also from the Globe and Mail, for his story on "the tattoed king of the midway," and the Best Celebrity Obituary (Long) awarded to co-winners Tim Bullamore and Sandram Martin of the Daily Telegraph of London in 2007, for their obit on Natalia Karp. Not one but two professional obituary writers to produce an award-winning, final narrative for a celebrity. So that's how it is at the top of stardom! I could go on with the awards presented at the annual SPOW conference, but . . . I won't. I may add the Globe and Mail, a Canadian paper, to my list of favorites on my browser.

The hardest part is reading an obituary of someone you knew and loved. Someone who was a part of your life, in whatever way, big or small. Those or the ones I have saved, for more than 40 years. I clip them neatly, and keep them in the pages of a book - The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran. Family, friends, people who touched my life in one way or another over the span of time. A record. A record of the path I have travelled. Strange? Probably. Unhealthy? Maybe. Just one way of holding on to where you have travelled, what has influenced your life and where you are going. Holding a memory that speaks to your heart and your mind. Remembering.

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