My Obituary Fixation

The part of the newspaper I most look forward to reading is the obituaries.  I love obituaries.  As in, sometimes I save them for last like dessert.  

There is something profound about the entirety of a person's life reduced to a short column.  I'm fascinated by what the family or designated writer chooses to include in the brief summary of their loved one's life.  Do they focus on achievements?  The facts?  Do they give a rundown of various places lived and survivors?  Do they capture characteristics of the person?  Their passions or their faith?  I feel the sorrows listed- they fought in war, they lost a child, they lived with debilitating illness.  I study the small black and white picture, imagining reasons said and unsaid for every wrinkle.   Can I read between the lines at what their purpose was?  What drove them?  

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