I don't know if this is old news and new news; however, it was new news to be so I decided to share with everyone. This is from an article that is in the Ft Walton Beach Daily News, 28 March 1999, by Tracy Wenzel Conner (Daily News Business Editor): "The name of Spyder Graphics Inc's Web site, passedaway.com, gives a pretty big hint as to the nature of the business. "The company, based in Janesville, Wis, publishes online obituaries. "Listings stay posted for about 30 days and are accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. "For people who have friends and relatives all over the place, it's an ideal way to honor a loved one's memory, says R Dale Moore, Spyder Graphics Inc's chief executive officer. ""The pages are designed to bring our mobile society together," Moore explains. "It's just a wonderful way to communicate with family and friends and pull them together." "The online obits are not designed to replace newspaper obituaries. "But, Moor says, death notices posted on passedaway.com have the potential of reaching a much large audience that your average daily newspaper. ""Many of the people who line in Fort Walton Beach would have relatives (scattered) around the country," he points out. "You wouldn't be able to put an obit in every one of the newspapers" in every one of the towns. "The idea was born when Mark F Meacham, who is president of Spyder Graphics, lost his grandmother. ""I printed fliers for by grandmother's funeral and thought, 'Well gee, I could put this online,'" he recalls. "According to the research Meacham and Moore have done, baby boomers are using the Internet in growing numbers. "They are growing older and more mobile, says Moore, who contends that "It is a natural extension of this to have your obituary online." "Like most newspapers, Spyder Graphics accepts obituaries only from funeral directors. "That failsafe is to guard against fraud and hoaxes. "Online obits cost anywhere from $15 to $50, depending on their length. The price includes one color photograph. "In addition, Spyder Graphics can put together an electronic picture board -- photographs of the deceased in different phases of life -- for an additional charge. "The company also publishes tributes on the anniversary of people's deaths, on their birthday or on other special days. ""We're finding that there's a real need for families to do something in remembrance," Moore says. "An anniversary is coming up or their birthday and they want to do something for them." "Moore says some of the company's clients buy the online obituaries as a gift to the family, in lieu of flowers. "Funeral directors have been accommodating so far, he says. ""We've only had one funeral director object," Moore reports. "He just couldn't understand why there was a need for this kind of thing at all." "At a family behest, a funeral director can fax an obit to 608-758-2816, e- mail it to passedaway@passedaway.com of Federal Express it to PO Box 1858, Janesville, WI, 53547-1858. "People who read the obits electronically will be able to immediately e-mail their condolences to the family." I realize that this is a little bit long, but I thought that this information was worthwhile to get out to as many people as possible. Cathy Strickland Popp Co-Coordinator, Holmes County FLGENWeb