It seems it’s taking a long time to gather obit snippets. I think families must be rethinking what they include and have decided to curb their odd comments about the dearly departed. The notices are becoming more predictable and standardized. However, I have managed, by careful scrutiny, to cobble together yet another grouping of short excerpts from the newspaper over the spring and summer. And just in time, too, as Labor Day Weekend is almost upon us. Here goes….
F. H…. “F.H., 92, passed from this life on July 5th and has probably fired the timekeeper who kept him here longer than he planned.”
R.W…. “It was said that he had a PhD in goose hunting; he [really] earned his nickname “Gooseman.” He was [also] a member of Ducks Unlimited.”
E.T…. “She volunteered through her church for several disaster recovery events and was proud to be chain saw certified.”
F.A…. [Lt. Col. USAF (Ret.)] “F. was a happy child. When he was quite small, his mother would dress him up in a little sailor suit and have him sing.” [I suppose this presaged a career in the armed forces!]
B.D…. “B. has made his final curtain call. He married his high school sweetheart on January 31, 1940. B. and B. cut class and eloped to the local courthouse, making it back before school ended for the day. They were married for 61 years. [He waited until retirement to pick up his acting career; he had several appearances in movies (e.g. Firestarter II, Out of Step, Baptists at Our Barbeque), commercials, and voice-overs] B. played Old Man Winter in the Questar [Utah energy utility] gas commercials.”
M.H…. “She never missed The Price Is Right and loved to line-dance with her girls to the “Boot, Scoot & Boogie” while Mark’s (her “sweetheart”) band played. She was proud and close to her grandkids and was their “Nana Banana.”
M.A…. “She and husband, B., spent many a weekend attending gun, knife, and teddy bear shows” [what an odd mix of interests…].
K.A…. “K. was known as the Queen of Clean.”
M.F…. “Mother, Gram,Ya, G-G Mo, Bingo Nazi, and Queen of all tat she saw was born on…in…. M. was very proud of er Dutch heritage and loved to tell people that ‘You ain’t much if you ain’t Dutch!’ M. was a force to be reckoned with and will be missed.”
F.K…. “She just ran out of time.”
B.C…. “‘Punky’ was an avid hunter and fisherman who lived for the thrill of the kill. The greatest joy in his life was his three baby girls [granddaughters]. He was an amazing cook and had one hell of a golf swing.”
A.W…. “After fighting a fierce battle with Pulmonary Fibrosis, [undergoing] five heart bypasses, [surviving] a horse that fell on me, and cancer, I have fulfilled my journey here on earth….”
F.P…. “She was a pain in the butt, but we loved her anyways.”
J.M…. “To her family and friends, J. was the ‘Asian Martha Stewart’.”
G.L…. “She was known for her fudge recipe, for which she paid the princely sum of one hundred dollars many years ago.”
L.P…. “Along with her passing, she took her famous homemade bread recipe and her beautiful crocheting. C. had a great dislike for the color yellow.”
And finally, at 81, D’s tastes were eclectic–she must have been fun:
D.S…. “She loved to read, play cards, watch old western movies, and listen to Barbra Streisand. [She] gave up bowling after 2006 heart surgery. Recently, she went to a Lady Gaga concert with her two granddaughters. Her dream was to go on an African safari, but she had to settle for the next best thing, the Wild Animal Park in San Diego.”