obituary forum

The State of the American Obituary

2009-12-02T15:02:00.003-05:00

Patricia Sullivan of The Washington Post has posted an item on the Post Mortem blog about the Medill School of Journalism report on "The State of the American Obituary."

David Lloyd is dead

2009-11-15T07:33:00.005-05:00

The Emmy Award-winning TV comedy writer, who died last week of prostate cancer, penned scripts for "The Bob Newhart Show," "Phyllis," "Rhoda," "Lou Grant," "Taxi," "Cheers" and "Frasier." But he was best known for writing the hilarious "Mary Tyler Moore" episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust."

As an obit writer, I have always enjoyed this humorous look at death and impromptu tributes. In honor of Mr. Lloyd, I offer this video clip of his masterpiece:

Paid Obits from 2008

2009-11-02T14:06:00.003-05:00

Dear Obituary writers et al:

Alana mentioned that I would be posting, so here goes:

I'm a public radio producer working on an end-of-year obit series for NPR's All Things Considered. We hope the series will acknowledge deaths from this past year -- as well as the people who memorialized these deaths. As part of the series, we will be doing a segment on paid obits -- read by the people who wrote them. I'm interested in hearing from all of you about your favorite paid obits from this year. If you noticed some that stood out, I'd be grateful if you could send them to me at ebotein@mac.com

Thanks so much for your time.

Best,

Emily

A sign of the times

2009-11-01T08:17:00.002-05:00

Some people spend their whole lives vying for fame. To get your name up in lights in Iowa, all you have to do is die.

The Iles Funeral Home in Des Moines is now offering electronic obituaries on area billboards. The digital announcements last about 8 seconds and feature the deceased person's name, picture and service details as well as the funeral home's Web site. The extra service is offered at no charge.

Cashing in on the dearly departed

2009-10-19T10:42:00.002-05:00

A CBS affiliate in Michigan thinks it can turn on-air obituaries into an important revenue stream.

Kay Powell's mama died

2009-09-10T09:31:00.002-05:00

Kay Powell, who wrote fabulous obits for regular folks as well as the rich and famous during her years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, composed an obit for her mother, Juanita T. Powell, that ran in the AJC's paid obits section and appears on the McLane Funeral Home website: www.mclanefuneralservices.com.

Kay did a fine job of summing up her mom's professional, social and family life, explaining some details in her own special way.

She provides the following to explain how Mama delighted in sharing her home with family, friends and sometimes strangers:

In fact, after she was widowed, there were 13 toothbrushes in her bathroom, all kept there by people who regularly enjoyed her company.

She evolved into a great cook who turned out a dinner every Sunday then--determined by how much she had cooked--invited whomever she ran in to to join the family table after church where lively, sometimes six-way conversations ensued.

Condolences, Kay.

How many Ps in Chappaquiddick?

2009-08-26T20:58:00.001-05:00

Editor & Publisher tracks the first mention of Chappaquiddick in a roundup of obituaries:

It's always fascinating to see where obituaries first bring up what might be called the biggest (sometimes single) black mark on a notable person's life. Just last week we looked at when news outlets first mentioned the Plame case in covering the death of Robert Novak. So where did leading outlets place the first mention of the Chappaquiddick accident in their obits of Ted Kennedy? E&P's Sam Chamberlain provides the following count. The liberal Boston Globe mentioned it much earlier than the conservative Boston Herald.

NY Daily News- 13th graf

Associated Press- 7th graf

Boston Herald- 10th graf

Boston Globe- 5th graf

NY Times- 14th graf

NY Post- 14th graf

Washington Post- 9th graf

Wall Street Journal- 6th graf

LA Times- 12th graf

Chicago Tribune- 12th graf (same obit as LA Times)

Miami Herald- 10th graf

Reuters- 18th graf

USA Today- 19th graf

Politico- 24th graf

The Hill-NO MENTION

Roll Call-25th graf

National Journal-11th graf

Times of London- 8th graf

My sister: The obituary cliché

2009-08-15T11:49:00.003-05:00

Sometimes standard obituary clichés are true, as you will see in "Alana Baranick's The Dash Between" column titled "Rosalie Miltak Sims and Obituary Clichés" at ObitsOhio.com in what amounts to a eulogy for my sister, who died May 16, 2008.

At the end of the column, I added a link to that long list of obit clichés that Claire Martin compiled and posted on Obituary Forum last year.

The RIPpy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Obitutainment

2009-07-30T11:57:00.001-05:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

The Rippy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Obitutainment - Crypts

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Joke of the Day

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Rippy Awards - Celebrity Crypts

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Joke of the Day

Farewell Footage

2009-07-30T11:06:00.002-05:00

In the past two years, producers at The New York Times on the Web have stockpiled more than two dozen video obits of famous subjects. Ten more are currently "in production."

"There is editing and production and interviewing, and it takes time. You have to do a lot of research, get archival footage, acquire rights to things and go through our own video library," David Rummel, the Times senior producer for news and documentary, told Editor & Publisher magazine.

At the time of this writing, The Times has published four Vobits: Art Buchwald, Dith Pran, Odetta and Stewart Mott. In each case, the Website agreed to keep the involvement and identity of the subject confidential until the time of death.

Is your news organization doing this? If not, why not?

Librarians at your service

2009-07-05T18:32:00.002-05:00

In case you missed a posting about this new librarian website, check it out.
It's staffed by librarians who are happy to answer death-related questions.

Jeff Goldblum has died. Twitter says so.

2009-07-01T22:58:00.003-05:00

Without putting it into words, Stephen Colbert made an excellent point on the Colbert Report on Comedy Central June 29, 2009, when he reported the death of actor Jeff Goldblum based on information provided by Twitter.

It's the same thing as the obit writer's Rule No. 1: Make sure they're dead. And Rule No. 2 is like unto it: Make sure your sources are reliable.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Jeff Goldblum Will Be Missed

http://www.colbertnation.com/

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Jeff Goldblum

Limited time offers

2009-06-28T23:43:00.001-05:00

This week's celebrity dead — Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson. But wait! There's more!! Billy Mays.

Gayle Ronan Sims' last obit: Ed McMahon

2009-06-23T08:06:00.002-05:00

Before Gayle Ronan Sims went into the hospital for a lung transplant a couple of months ago, she completed the finishing touches on the advance obit she wrote about Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson's TV sidekick on "The Tonight Show."

She requested that we post that obit on the Obituary Forum when McMahon's time came. It's time now. McMahon died this morning (June 23, 2009).

Gayle's time came sooner. She died April 16, 2009, not long after undergoing transplant surgery.
Her byline appears on McMahon's obit in today's Philadelphia Inquirer. (Per Philly Inky policy, this link will not remain online indefinitely. Once it disappears from the Internet, it can be ordered from the Inquirer archives.)

She began the obit this way: Ed McMahon, 86, who began his half-century television career in Philadelphia before becoming Johnny Carson's sidekick on The Tonight Show where his stentorian booming announcement "Heeere's Johnny!" became his trademark, died this morning.

Gayle's story gets front-page treatment on the newspaper's mainpage at http://www.philly.com/.

Gayle was the champion of incorporating multimedia into obits. She probably was responsible for assembling the slideshow that accompanies his obit.

As was her custom, I'm sure Gayle searched YouTube.com for video of McMahon and designated at least one video that would be appropriate to run with his obit. I'm guessing its omission was an oversight on the part of the folks who posted the obit online this morning. Perhaps it will be added later.

In the meantime, here's a video of McMahon in his role as straight man to Carson's Karnak the Magnificent.

Non-pro seeks feedback from pro obit writers

2009-06-20T06:38:00.002-05:00

In an email to the Society of Professional Obituary Writers, corporate writer Susan C. McGarry wrote that she recently penned her father’s obit and would like to get comments from those who write obits professionally.

Those of you who prefer to respond to her privately rather than making a public comment on Obituary Forum can get Susan's contact info from Alana Baranick.

Here's the obituary Susan wrote for her father:

L. Benjamin Clark, 76, of Scottsdale, Ariz., passed away June 1, 2009, after a blessedly brief battle with cancer.

Beloved father, husband, grandfather, friend and teacher, Ben was born Sept. 22, 1932, in Livingston County, Ill., to Leonard and Alice McKinney Clark. Raised in the small town of Chenoa, Ill., he was an avid track and football athlete at Chenoa High School, where he still held the shot put record of 52’ 8" when the school closed in 2004. Ben went on to star at the University of Illinois and at Illinois State University, playing football and setting a school shot put record at ISU as well.

While at ISU, Ben met Bettyglen "B.G" Render of Bloomington, and they married in 1953. Ben graduated from ISU in 1955 with degrees in business education and physical education, and taught at school in Milford, Mt. Morris and Palmyra before moving his family to Rock Island, in 1960. He found Rock Island to be an enjoyable place to raise a family, and his teaching and coaching career blossomed.

The strongly built 6’ 4" teacher and track and football coach was a fixture on the local sports scene, also serving as Rock Island High School’s athletic department business manager. He was admired by his students and the athletes he coached, as well as by his peers, who often enjoyed his friendly style and desire to bring a smile and laugh to those around him. A brick paver in his honor is installed on the plaza at the Rocky Fieldhouse.

Ben retired from Rocky in 1989, and he and B.G. headed to Mesa, Ariz., for retirement. But a kicked-back retirement wasn’t for Ben. He started a second career in teaching and coaching for Mesa Public Schools and became very active in Senior Olympics, competing and winning medals at the local, regional and national levels. He took up hobbies in photography and genealogy but his zest for sports remained a focus of his life. He retired again in 1995.

Known as "Benny" in his younger years, then as "Big Ben" by his students, friends and family, in later life he was affectionately known as "Boompa" by his three grandchildren, whom he adored.

Surviving are his wife, B.G., Scottsdale; daughters, Carol Clark and her husband, David Hassard, Albuquerque, N.M., and Susan Albrecht McGarry and her husband, Patrick McGarry, Scottsdale. He is also survived by three grandchildren, Beth (Hassard) Diven and her husband, Matt Diven, Fort Collins, Colo., and Ben Albrecht and Ted Albrecht, both of Phoenix. He is further survived by sister-in-law, Joanne Clark, brother-in-law Tjark Rients; as well as by nieces, nephews, many other relatives and many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers, Arthur, Lemuel and William; and a sister, Mary Agnes.

Ben’s talents as a teacher and coach, his sense of humor, his generous manner, his love of family and his passion for all things sports will be remembered with love. A special and unique man, he will be dearly missed.

A celebration of Ben’s life will be held on Saturday, June 13, at Beck Memorial Home at 11 a.m. in Bloomington, Ill. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. followed by a memorial service and interment at Park Hill Cemetery in Bloomington with Jerry Hoffman presiding. The family asks that donations be made to the Ben Clark Memorial Fund through the Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation, 2101 6th Ave., Rock Island, IL 61201, to support athletes in need at Rock Island High School. Donations may also be made to the American Cancer Society. Arrangements are being handled by Beck Memorial Home, Bloomington.

Not inside a pineapple necessarily, but definitely under the sea

2009-06-12T13:47:00.004-05:00

In case you didn't read the first comment on the previous blog post, here's a link to Eternal Reefs, an underwater destination for cremated remains: http://www.eternalreefs.com/index.html

Interview with Joan Harvey of The Oregonian

2009-06-12T09:20:00.002-05:00

Justin Nobel, a blogger who wrote obits for the Point Reyes Light after our colleague Larken Bradley left that paper for the West Marin Citizen, recently sought an interview with a member of the Society of Professional Obituary Writers.

He got one with Joan Harvey.

You can read it on Justin's blog at:
http://blogs.funeralwise.com/dying/

Introducing the Grim Reader, weekly obit commentary

2009-05-29T15:54:00.003-05:00

Hi all,

Just wanted to pass a quick note about Obit-mag's newest column, The Grim Reader, a commentary-laden round up of the week's obits in papers and mags around the world. Did the obits skirt important issues, bury underlying historical narratives, or trump up achievements of little worth? The Grim Reader spares no one...

http://www.obit-mag.com/viewmedia.php/prmMID/6048

tell me what you think about format and scope... and do comment on Michael Schaffer's assessments...

hope you are doing well...

"Larry's Kidney" by Daniel Asa Rose, SPOW Award winner

2009-05-18T15:47:00.003-05:00

Daniel Asa Rose, who received a 2008 Society of Professional Obituary Writers Award for his memoir-form obit titled "Fare Thee Well, Ex-Father-In-Law," has a new book out with the unlikely title, "LARRY'S KIDNEY: Being the True Story of How I Found Myself in China With my Black-Sheep Cousin and his Mail-Order Bride, Skirting the Law to Get Him a Transplant ... and Save His Life."

Be sure to view the video of Daniel explaining the circumstances of this "dark comedy about medical tourism" on his Web site - http://www.danielasarose.com.

Desirée Strand, as remembered by her sister

2009-05-11T12:17:00.003-05:00

Justine Strand, an associate professor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., wrote to the Society of Professional Obituary Writers about the obituary she wrote for her sister Desirée Strand.

In her email message, Justine wrote: I believe the obituary is far more important than any service. I wanted people who never knew my sister to read the obit and say, "What a fascinating and beautiful woman. I wish I could have known her."

I believe Justine has succeeded in her mission. Here's her sister's obit. What do you think?

Desirée Strand

In a parallel universe, Desirée Strand is planning a 54th birthday bash in Paris this July with her closest friends. In the limited dimension we inhabit, she died April 30, 2009 in Durham after years of ever-worsening multiple sclerosis (MS), blessed with dementia that made her unaware of the ravages of the disease.

Born Linda Joan Strand in Ridgecrest, California, she was a genius who defied convention. A willowy strawberry blonde, she was a talented pianist so fluent in French that Parisians never guessed she was American.

Her passion was exobiology, the study of life on other planets. She enjoyed brief success as a science writer until her career was cut short by MS.

She loved Mars, and wrote in Astronomy in December 1983: “Although the existence of water in liquid form on the martian surface is highly improbable at present, that does not exclude the possibility that it may exist either as ice or water vapor.” In May 2008 elated scientists reported that the Phoenix spacecraft had found ice on Mars.

In the June 1984 issue of Astronomy she warned that NASA’s decision not to sterilize the Galileo probe might result in contamination of the planet with terrestrial anaerobic bacteria. In 2003 NASA crash-landed Galileo into Jupiter to avoid the risk of contaminating Jupiter’s ice-covered moon Europa with earthly microbes.

She counted among her friends and colleagues Carl Sagan and Jacques Vallee (fictionalized as the character portrayed by François Truffaut in Close Encounters of the Third Kind). Vallee granted her a rare interview which was published in the then-obscure MUFON Journal in May 1988; he liked it so much he republished it in the paperback version of his book Dimensions: a casebook of alien contact.

Linda asked to change her name to Desirée as MS began to destroy her mental functioning, perhaps memorializing the shift from the person she was. Among her last words were “MS is not me.”

An important focus of her life was Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, which she practiced from her teen years until MS made her unable to recall how to chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo.

Desirée was predeceased by her mother, Arlene Strand.

She is survived by her father, Neall Strand of Durham, sisters Justine Strand of Durham and Jane Hoffman of Bremerton, Washington; nieces Hailey Hoffman of Washington, DC, Miranda Jackson and grand niece Olivia Jackson of Bremerton, Washington; brother in law Jasiel de Oliveira and nephew Jackson de Oliveira of Durham.

A memorial gathering of family and friends is tentatively planned for June. Arrangements by the Cremation Society of the Carolinas. Online condolences @ www.cremnc.com.

Student scams obit writers around the world

2009-05-07T09:59:00.003-05:00

Shane Fitzgerald, a student at the University of Dublin, purposely posted a fake quotation on Wikipedia and attributed it to Maurice Jarre. When the Oscar-winning French composer died in March, the following quote appeared in hundreds of obits:

"One could say my life itself has been one long soundtrack. Music was my life, music brought me to life, and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life. When I die there will be a final waltz playing in my head, that only I can hear."

According to AFP, Fitzgerald said he started the hoax as an experiment for his research on globalisation. While I disdain his actions and believe he should feel ashamed for trivializing Jarre's death for his own gain, I also see this scam as a reminder for all of us to double- and triple-check our sources. Some people just can't be trusted.

Career Choices

2009-05-02T12:04:00.002-05:00

Andrew Meacham's SPOW Convention report

2009-05-01T17:46:00.002-05:00

Andrew Meacham, who writes Epilogue feature obits for the St. Petersburg Times, took notes as fast and as furiously as a court reporter - but by hand - at the Society of Professional Obituary Writers (SPOW) Convention in Charlotte, N.C., April 23-25, 2009.

Here's a portion of the convention report he wrote for Sidebar, his paper's in-house newsletter:

My goal at this meeting of a new group for obituary writers was to absorb everything I could.

We discussed how to get ordinary people to supply those critical moments in a subject’s life that lead to a memorable obit.

We debated the relative merits of anonymous vs. bylined obits.

And we pondered which is better, the New York Times style of unrolling the deceased’s name and a descriptive clause in the lede and then “killing” the person off vs. delaying the death announcement to mid-story or the end.

A number of suggestions sounded familiar:
(1) Ask sources about the obstacles or challenges the deceased may have overcome.
(2) Look for the unusual, and ask explicitly for it.
(3) Don’t forget to ask about the deceased’s annoying, even obnoxious, traits.

Cheryl Carpenter, managing editor of the Charlotte Observer, gave a pep talk about the tendency of people in all fields to grow exponentially while young, then flatten out for decades of professional competency.

“For real mastery,” she said, “the growth curve never has to stop.”

In a sign of the times, the conference attracted only about 15 people. But SPOW's obit contest drew scores of entries in the print, online and broadcast categories.

Two observations from that:
(1) The feature obit is popular with readers, whether the subjects are famous or not, and
(2) Obits translate well into video.

You don’t have to be Dateline or 60 Minutes to excel.

Dick Russ, managing editor of WKYC-Ch. 3 in Cleveland, won in the broadcast obit category with a piece on Indians pitcher-turned-announcer Herb Score, whose brilliant start ended when he took a line drive to the face.

Russ overlaid the narration with still photos, old baseball footage and a song about Score, who eventually returned to the mound but was never the same. His follow-through had changed, analysts said, and he seemed to turn slightly away from the plate at the end of each pitch, as if he were about to duck.

The obit ended with the question Cleveland fans have long asked about Score: What might have been?

Final edition

2009-04-29T10:30:00.001-05:00

Further praise for the modern obituary from Stefany Anne Golberg in The Smart Set from Drexel University.

2009 SPOW Convention and Awards reports

2009-04-28T10:29:00.007-05:00

Kathy Haight penned "Obit writers share lives of regular folks," a report on the Society of Professional Obituary Writers convention held April 23-25, 2009, in Charlotte, N.C. The article appeared in The Charlotte Observer on Sunday, April 26, 2009.

Our thanks to Joe Strupp senior editor, Editor and Publisher, for sharing the list of SPOW Award winners with E&P online readers Monday, April 27, 2009.

We expect that firsthand reports on the convention will be posted soon by those who attended. Y'all come back again, y'hear? (Evidence that I, a Rust Belt resident, spent too much time in the South this past week.)