Don't make obit a resume [forwarded from alt.obituaries] Barbara Quirk The Capital Times (Madison, WI) December 4, 2007 It seems John Doe passed away. Not to speak ill of the dead, but John had been a miserly type of guy; his wife Jane had called him cheap. Although the Does had been married for a long time, it was not a happy marriage, and no love was lost when John died. Arrangements for burial were being made, and the funeral director inquired about the obituary. "Just write 'John Doe was born May 1, 1940, and died June 1, 1999.'" The funeral director explained that there was a 50-word minimum for the newspaper and the costs would be the same either way. Without hesitation, the new widow responded, "Add 'Cadillac for sale.'" The subject of obituaries came up recently. We agreed that many of the obituaries today read like a resume rather than tell who that person really was. One of the women in the group described the obituary of a relative, an apparently very accomplished and well-known man. "The paper ran a big story on him with headlines about an inch high, but his actual obituary was quite short." She went on to explain that this man who loved photography had traveled to many countries, had written books and was an authority on art and antiques. Still, his family was able to say all this in a few short words. "He traveled the world photographing his adventures," and "His passion for local history was fulfilled with the publication of two local history books." We agreed that listing every country traveled and every interest would have made for a several-column eulogy. Of course, not every family member can write that tightly, but it is good to have some standards to aim for. I spoke with Jim Olle about obituaries. Olle, a Madison resident, is rather an authority on the subject as he has collected about 1,200 of them in his pursuit of family history. I asked him what he likes to find in an obituary. "It is helpful for me to find all of the names, dates and places and the names of all of the children and grandchildren. In the pursuit of genealogy, it is helpful to read about their military history, their social history, what clubs they belonged to, such as the VFW or the Elks." Olle believes that when the obituary describes the person's interests, such as fishing or travel, it gives you a more complete picture of the person. Olle, who focuses on his family as German immigrants, follows the line for three or four generations. "It is fascinating to see how the first generations lived close to each other and how subsequent generations start to fan out across the country. Also it's interesting to me to follow how occupation patterns seem to follow certain families." I asked about the style of so many lengthy obituaries in Dane County, and Olle, a retired engineer, just laughed. "This is a university town," he explained. "These guys are so used to writing for grants and have a need to throw in all of their credentials." Scott Kundinger, a manager at Cress Funeral and Cremation Service, sees more families bringing in the obituary information. Sometimes more than one family is involved. Traditionally, the information was straightforward, but lately it is more personal. Cress offers guidelines for loved ones to fill in the blanks with all of the vital statistics and the major information such as colleges or schools, occupation, war service, church and club memberships. Cress' outline also includes survivors and details of the funeral service itself. Kundinger suggests that if the date and time of the services are listed in the obituary, that can present an opportunity for someone to break in, knowing the house is likely to be empty. It is wise to have someone stay at the home during those times. Staff from the funeral home will assist the family in composing the obituary and will edit it as necessary. Likewise, newspapers have their own style of presenting the information. Something to consider is where the obituary should appear. If someone lived and worked in one community and retired to another, the notice could appear in several papers. Kundinger said obituaries are not required, and costs are charged by the line. And no, there is no minimum length. Barbara Quirk is a geriatric nurse practitioner. http://www.madison.com/tct/entertainment/260196 -- Steve Hayes E-mail: hayesmstw@hotmail.com (see web page if it doesn't work) Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/famhist1.htm http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7783/

On Dec 4, 11:17 am, Steve Hayes <hayesm...@hotmail.com> wrote: > Don't make obit a resume [forwarded from alt.obituaries] > > Barbara Quirk > The Capital Times (Madison, WI) > > December 4, 2007 > > > "It is helpful for me to find all of the names, dates and places and > the names of all of the children and grandchildren. In the pursuit of > genealogy, it is helpful to read about their military history, their > social history, what clubs they belonged to, such as the VFW or the > Elks." Olle believes that when the obituary describes the person's > interests, such as fishing or travel, it gives you a more complete > picture of the person. > Thanks for posting the article. My Dutch ancestors settled in and near Holland, Michigan in the 1840's. There are a lot of descendants that still live in the area. I am not one of them. So, every few months I do a search of the archives at the Holland Sentinel newspaper website. (It goes back to July 1997 and doesn't charge anything to let you see the entire article. I have been able to find a number of obituaries as well as birth announcements and engagement announcements this way. The Dykstra Funeral Homes in the area also have a website and for some people include a life story. I enjoy finding and reading these. Here is an example: http://www.lifestorynet.com/memories/4079/ Wendy Klager