Write Your Own Obituary

By Kathy

It's always a bit sobering reading a person's obituary, seeing their life summed up in just a couple of short paragraphs.    Writing your own obituary is another way in which we can attempt to be proactive in planning for our eventual death, and a way that will guarantee that what is printed about you is correct or even about you!    Don’t assume that it would be otherwise! 

 I learned that when the brother of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of both dynamite and the Nobel Prize passed away, Alfred found his own obituary was printed (by mistake) in his local paper instead of his brother’s.  The paper noted only that he had created the most destructive force in the world, TNT. Upon reading it, Nobel decided that destruction was not what he wanted to be remembered for, so he set up the notorious Nobel Foundation to award five annual prizes for human achievement, including Peace.  He also wrote his obituary to reflect more of his contributions to his life and society.

You may feel that writing your own obituary is a rather macabre task, however, it is often overlooked as a part of funeral pre-planning.  By taking care of it yourself, you relieve a loved one of another difficult task imposed on them at a distressing time.  By writing it yourself, you also stamp your personality (and accuracy)  on the celebration of your life.

When your death notice is listed in the back of some newspaper, what would you want it to say? Let me challenge you to do something unique — write your own obituary. Think about what you'd want to be most remembered for. Would it be the size of your house or bank account?  Probably you want to be remembered for your character.  That you loved others and loved the Lord.  That you were a philanthropist, a person who tried to make a difference, etc. etc.

 The contributions of your life that are important to you as well as accomplishments, who you loved, who is survived by you, hometown and places lived, achievements, even quotes about you  by others would be a good thing to include. Some time soon (it’s easy to procrastinate on this one) get in a quiet place  alone, and think about what your obituary will say.  Then write it down and share it.  Someone will be glad you did.

What will be included in my obituary?

 An obituary typically includes the following sections in order: