An article in USA Today talked about the “selfie obit” and
how more and more people are writing their own obituaries because they don’t
trust the newspaper or family to get it right. Type in “self obituary” on YouTube
and you’ll find about 10,000 touching, shocking or amusing ones.
Susan Soper (a former Atlanta newspaper editor) sells “ObitKits”
that show people how to sum up their lives in ways meaningful to them.
Writing your own obituary makes sense for the person who
likes to control everything; they won’t have to come back and haunt the family
member who wrote the obit, but left out vital information. The control freak
can plan their entire demise from coffin to outfit and now – obituary.
Will some obits be like an acceptance speech at the academy
awards where the winner thanks everyone in their life? Or will “self obits”
become like the last annoying Christmas newsletter nobody wants to read? Will
it be the last hooray to rub in the
noses of others as you list your lifetime achievements, making them feel
inadequate?
Every five years you should rewrite and edit your obituary to
keep it fresh, keep it current. As for editing – do you think the ‘self obit’
can be edited? I don’t see why not. It’s not like the deceased will know. The wife
and children may decide to print the truth and shred the glowing review the
deceased gave himself; which leads me to my next question.
Can a ‘self obit’ be contested like a will? Is it subject to
change or is it written in stone? If enough people sign a petition can editing
be done? If not – then my next question is – can the spouse publish a rebuttal? Would it be printed next to
the obituary or on the Ed-Op page of the paper? I think the rebuttal maybe a
lot juicier to read.
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