Death often takes us unaware, even when there has been an illness. And in a state of confusion, grief, and usually fatigue we are expected to attend to practical details, one of which may be encouraging the local paper to write an obituary (the essay-like story about the deceased written by a staff writer, not the paid-for death notice listing the surviving family members, etc.). In the past, papers like the New York Times and the Washington Post wrote obituaries mostly about the rich, the famous, and the important local dead. More recently, recognizing that the obituary page is the first page many people turn to in the morning (to see which friends have left this world), they have begun writing interesting stories about regular (albeit sometimes eccentric) people. Obituaries can and should be interesting stories, not boring brag fests. Here are some links to sites for fans of obituaries, to examples of interesting obituaries, and to related sites.
Obituary Forum (spinoff of Life on the Death Beat)
Post Mortem (interesting Washington Post blog about obits--the end of the story)
Lady Jeanne Campbell (obit from the Telegraph)
A lurid tale from 1857 is revived in granite (New York Times)
