Legacy.com’s newspaper affiliates publish thousands of obituaries each day. Every so often, one of these obituaries will catch my eye. Maybe the person lived a highly accomplished life or seemed especially close to her family. Or maybe the obituary includes a funny line or two.
When I come across one of these “special” obituaries, I often share it with family and friends. And today, I’m sharing a few of my favorites with all of you:
*When Mary Elizabeth Kittredge Jack passed away, her husband of 54 years skipped the obit and wrote a beautiful love letter to her instead.
*Frederic Clark excelled at mediocrity and enjoyed a lifelong love affair with bacon, butter, cigars and bourbon. Reading his obituary, you can tell Fred was a real hoot.
*Stephen Schleis put his family’s needs before his own. He would only eat after everyone in the house had their plates full. This line from his obituary brought tears to my eyes: “Even at the end, confused by dementia and eating pureed food, he wouldn’t take a bite without whispering: ‘You first.’”
*Mitchell Gough’s lifelong love of all things Star Trek is evident in the loving obituary his sister prepared when he “warped into space on his last mission” at age 37.
*Given one year to live, Henry “Hank” Olais Jr. wrote his own obituary and offered advice for making the most of your days.
There are many ways to remember our deceased loved ones, and no one way is right or perfect. For ideas and information on writing obituaries, see our earlier blog post: How to write an obituary.
