Shameless Promotion
Every week I take time to leisurely drink a cup of coffee while reading the Sunday paper. I take particular care in my review of obituaries. I’m like a senior citizen like that LOL! I have lived in the DC metro area long enough that at least twice I’ve seen people that I knew. There are always interesting things to read about the life someone left behind. However, more and more I have been somewhat disgusted…well maybe that’s a bit too strong - but I have been turned off by something I notice in some obits.
I’ll give you an example of something that was in this Sunday’s obituaries. First of all, the obit was about 3 paragraphs long. The first 2 sentences talked about the birth/death dates of the deceased. The next couple of sentences described how nice she was and how she was a homemaker. The last sentence in the paragraph stated the name of her child. The next paragraph started with stating the daughter’s full married name and the fact that she was married to a US congressman. Here’s where it went sour for me. The next TWO paragraphs were basically a resume of the son-in-law’s professional and political career!!! This was not the first time I’d seen this. I even see it in wedding announcements. Usually it states the accomplishments of at least the parent (or in a deceased parent, their children)…but the son-in-law???
I think it’s cheesy and totally takes away from the person’s notice of death. It was almost like that elderly lady was being defined by the fact that her daughter married a famous politician. It really bugged me. I remember seeing one where the relatives were named and next to one relative, in parentheses, it said (yes, THAT John Smith)! First of all, it was like a 3rd cousin and it just so happened to be a famous rapper or singer, I can’t remember. I mean geesh, in death, let the deseased get top billing!
I agree. I got an invitation to a wedding once with a link to the couple’s wedding website. There were photos and full bios of all individuals in the wedding party as well as the bride ad groom. It was annoying. After all that they were married for less than one year.
Comment by Quel — January 7, 2009 @ 4:49p
That is really tacky. A lot of people feel (even in death I suppose) that they aren’t anything unless their “important” relative’s name is mentioned in connection with their own.
Comment by Tasha — January 8, 2009 @ 12:21p
Agreed. 100% agreed!
Comment by Melissa — January 9, 2009 @ 4:48p