either macabre or ironic...

... possibly both, after I composed an obituary for my auntie and sent it out to interested parties. The recipients included three cousins, plus my daughters and several friends of hers I had contact info. for.   The definition of macabre:  having to do with death, tending to produce horror in a beholder or dwelling on the gruesome. Ironic refers to an incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result. Maybe obit. writing is somewhere in between? Possibly qualifying as maudlin? (Which, according to Webster, is defined as 'drunk enough to be emotionally silly'...applicable to any number of situations in my opinion!)

I've written two obituaries in the past month. And have been threatening to write my own for years, in order to leave out stuff that I consider nobody's business - as well as add some details the writers might not think appropriate or worth mentioning. A friend I spoke with today asked if I was 'going into business', and questioned as to what I would charge to write his. After we both had a hearty laugh, I suggested that we would need to talk about it first. He laughed again and said: "If we don't talk first, it will be too late!" Whereupon I clarified and said we should discuss the pertinent facts before I can compose, as well as before he took all the information with him and there was no one left to answer the questions, in order to report his history for publication.

I can say I do not have much to regret in my life, but I will always wish I had asked my dad questions about his early years, and military service. He took all the answers before I came to the realization I should have been talking with him about his life before, literally, I came on the scene. There is much I would like to know, and often think how much I would have liked to hear him talk about his time in Europe during WWII as well as life in the small town where I grew up.

This is what will be printed in the paper next week:

C.B. departed this world on February 8, 2019. She was born in Quitman, GA, the last of four siblings to F. T. and C. B. As a child she enjoyed all the benefits of growing up in a small rural community, and had lifelong friendships she nurtured over many years.  She is predeceased by her parents and three siblings. Ms. B. leaves three nieces and one nephew.

C. B. loved life. She enjoyed her many friendships and all the people she met in her travels over the years. She did love to go places and see things, experiencing cultures and societies all over the world. A woman with boundless curiosity who was interested in exploring  the planet. 

Ms. B. was a retired educator, having taught in a number of schools all over the state from Marietta to Brunswick, Savannah to Valdosta. She taught English and Literature to generations of high school students. And after retiring from public schools, she went to Poland as a Peace Corps volunteer to teach English as a Second Language to students in Eastern Europe. Prior to her service as an international volunteer, she was a devoted care-giver for several years to her aging mother.

The family will have a private service at a later date. Those who wish to send remembrances may make donations to the Brooks County Library, 404 Barwick Rd., Quitman, GA, 31643, designated  as memorial gifts in memory of one who loved books, reading, and the written word.

The family is being served by the professional and caring staff of Music Funeral Services/Azalea Crematory, Valdosta, GA.