August 4, 2023
“I read obituaries first thing in the morning. With a cup of coffee. This is NOT MORBID. Just epic. Maybe it’s a way of trying to figure out, before the day begins, what is important. I am curious about all the little things that make up life. Little?”
― Maira Kalman
Bernice opened the Sunday paper, ignored the front page with the month-long investigation into corruption somewhere or other, passed by the editorial page cluttered with opinions, and didn’t even bother to read the headlines in the sports section. She wanted the obituaries.
The first words out of her mouth were, “Oh, Mr. Duarte died. He was my typing teacher in high school.” She read his obituary out loud. One line said, “I wrote this prior to my departure.”
Sometimes it seemed the only reason she had a subscription to the paper was for the obituaries. Reading the obituaries the first thing in the morning was a time-honored tradition, especially for the Greatest Generation, who looked to see if anyone they knew died.
This was before social media, Twitter and Facebook. Now, they’re no longer called obituaries. They’re called “Life Tributes.” The page celebrates people of all ages, all races, all religions, all nationalities and all professions. It’s a cross-section of humanity.
You won’t find any greater diversity than on the obituary page. From the powerful and the famous to simple, ordinary people, who hold the world together. Their life stories may not be published in the New York Times, but their simple acts of love and faith are known to God, and they will be rewarded in the next life, when the first will be last, and the last will be first.
When a loved one dies, we try to distill years of life into a few paragraphs to tell an inadequate story of who they were. But God, who welcomes them home, knows them far better than we do. He also loves them far more than we’re capable because his love is infinite and unconditional.
***
Every life has meaning, every life has purpose, every life has a greatness that transcends a few paragraphs of an obituary. How wonderful to have the chance to celebrate the life of your loved one.
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