I typed my own obituary a few months ago for the heck of it and told my wife I wanted it in the paper when I depart. I was wondering if it would be a good one to post as a question on the profile pages. Or would it be a dud.
Thanks

Rick, Personally, I think it would be a fun profile question...seeing how one views themselves and how they would like to be remembered, but it could be considered a bit morbid to some. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask it and if you get enough negative comments, axe it. Bonita

Now that is an interesting 'proposition!'
While I have said for years:
- "Live Your Life Today As If Your Obituary Will Appear Tomorrow" -
I guess this COULD be a bit informative if not entertaining to fellow classmates.
Have you considered making it a Forum item, where those who wished to participate could, and CC would not have to make a change to their format?

Hmmmmm, being addicted to genealogy I'd have no problem with such. However, as young as y'all are I'm not sure it would be received very well by your classmates. At your age I think most of them still don't acknowledge that life is short and death certain. My wife and I are pushing 70, and as Christians, we look forward to being with our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, for eternity, but, we're not ready to get on that bus just yet. Since I had to write the obituaries for my father and my mother-in-law, the day each died, I too, have already toyed with my obituary and plan to have it ready for the time it is needed so the kids don't have to do it. Let us know what kind of response you get if you give it a try.

Well I sent it off to a friend and his response was Morbid, did you already go
Here it is, I am having second thoughts on this!!
Obituary
Rick was born a poor dumb white Norwegian on March 24th in the year of 61, back in the 1900’s to Oscar & Bonnie Nelson. Lived in Spokane till 2nd grade then was moved to Mead. As a boy he kept busy tinkering and tried a number of things like selling wood trellises door to door, Raising cabbage, building wind chimes and always working on cars. He met the love of his life at 16 and Jeannie became his wife when he was 21. He was never any good at anything in school but he had fun there and enjoyed metal & auto shop. Rick worked for Mel & Bonnie Walker on their farm on Greenbluff and learned to work hard and also cuss and scream which he carried with him through out his life until he settled down and tried to live a Christian life. When Rick was younger he would give anyone the shirt off his back. After going to SCC for Fluid Power he became a manager of the maintenance dept. of an automated pizza plant in Spokane. During this time Jeannie and Rick had 2 boys: Nick Nelson oldest and Jarred Nelson youngest. Rick may not have been the best father but he cared dearly for his family and really wanted his boys to be responsible members of society. Later in life, he learned, there is all kinds of people that would take the shirt off his back and never give a second thought about whether or not he was cold himself. I think that is when he became a Libertarian. Rick called himself a JERK OF ALL TRADES and a MASTER OF NOTHING he enjoyed tinkering with machines but his main interest was collecting gas station items. He moved 2 gas stations home (thanks Jeannie for letting me do it) Rick & Jeannie started a business building and installing driveway gates and were always working side by side. They build there own house, shop and business together along with there kids. As time went by Ricks hands shook so bad he could almost thread a sewing machine as it was running. He probably could have done it if his eyes weren’t so bad. Thank you Jeannie, Nick and Jarred I will miss you and look forward to when we are all together again. Rick

I like how you told about your life but why act like you are dead? I would leave off the ending. We have already lost 17 class members and it is very sad. I would not find a fake obit funny.

Not funny, but interesting about how people see themselves. Taking a second look at it I am glad I ran it by you all first. I think I may be opening a can of worms with this. Someone may see themselves in a way that others would come back with negative comments about. I certainly wouldnt want to start anything that would hurt anyones feelings.
Thanks for the feedback.

Hi Rick,
Your "obituary" is very funny, heartfelt and full of Norsk Humor. Unfortunately this is a rare commodity (there is a book called"Scandinavian Humor and other myths", and the inside is filled with blank pages!) but from one viking to another, you might really want to rethink this...perhaps just in a different way!

You can "accomplish" the same goal, in essence, by adding a profile question or two. We have two at this time, one asking "What have you been doing the past 35 years?" and another, "what would you like your legacy to be?". If you wish, you could add something like "How would you like your obituary to read?"
I have read obituaries for years, part fascination perhaps, along with our own quest for how we lived our "Dash". The past year has been a bit profound on the death/obituary side for our class, and for many families in our class. So many are very uncomfortable with the topic, and in an effort to get them "thinking", i have posted many things on our Memory page to kinda tweak them into it. Our feelings about "death" help define how we live our Lives, and that song "live like you were dying" is a very good one.
Your humor and sincerity is great, but from one who almost lost a brother from your year group in a horrific accident last fall, as comfortable as i am with the topic, many are still hurting very deeply with unresolved issues. While my brother narrowly escaped sudden death, he is in a long recovery process and on the same day, a classmate lost a brother to a horrific murder. This classmate was charged with the obituary/funeral duties and the aftermath of the hurt is quite extensive. Our class has also had suicides,debilitating cancers and many sad stories that i try to handle with some sort of sensitivity,not always successfully. Life is full of moments that help us deal with death, and i have requested a "Viking funeral" when the time comes...but my eyes will be on the fireplace mantle to ensure that "I can keep an eye on them"! The boys think i am joking...!
Perhaps you can use your site forum as mentioned, another good idea for handling this with some levity and sensitivity! Long live the Nordic sense of Humor!
We never know what another is going through, but you can still approach the "topic" with humor and grace as you have done, but i would perhaps approach it a more "subtle" way. And "save" the original one in a Bible or jewelry box!

A long and Happy Life to you and yours!

The following is The Dash poem by Linda Ellis.

The Dash Poem - by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak

At the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the dates on her tombstone

From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth

And spoke of the following date with tears.

But he said what mattered most of all

Was the dash between those years.

For the dash represents all the time

That she spent alive on earth.

And now only those who loved her

Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own,

The cars, the house, the cash.

What matters is how we live and love

And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard,

Are there things you'd like to change?

For you never know how much time is left

That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough

To consider what's true and real

And always try to understand

The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger

And show appreciation more

And love the people in our lives

Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect

And more often wear a smile,

Remembering that this special dash

Might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read

With your life's actions to rehash

Would you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent your dash?

Wow What a neat poem!! Thanks for sharing it

Kris,

Thanks for sharing the Dash poem by Linda Ellis. I enjoyed it and decided to find out more about Linda Ellis. In the process, I discovered a YouTube video of the poem called "The Dash by Linda Ellis." Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsY6UrFIsNs

Alice

Thanks so much, Alice!
SimpleTruths has one on their site, but I did not know about the you-tubes! Great inspiration, especially because my creativity is running a bit low! Thanks so much!
Here's one from the same page ( to post your video/youtube in the forum space, just click on he video camera icon when in BBCode, enter the URL (in the top box of the page) from the video into the space provided and your you-tube should show up) At least that's the theory! It usually works! Sorry, but found out the "Walt the Talk" video i posted was "embedding disabled:, so will post an alternative.
Thanks again! Say Hey to my oldest brother, i think he lives in your neighborhood! Up the road from Issaquah!?
Hope spring arrives soon for you all!
Thanks so much once again! I really appreciate the "find"! Tons of related videos that will help me pass along the insights, perhaps someone, somewhere can use them!
Tusen Tak! for the added inspirations!
A long, Happy and Healthy life to everyone! And a Big Norsk hug to Rick!!! Thanks for the interesting forum topic!

Wow, thanks for the Dash video! I am using it on my profile if I can't find a gracious way to put it on the homepage. I try to keep things light there. Oh, well, change is good?

Margaret

Glad the YouTube link helped you with some inspiration, Kris! I don't know about you, but I need all the help I can get. The ideas from other administrators in this forum are such a great help. Thanks to you and all the admins who post their ideas and "finds!"

Thanks for the tip on embedding a video in the forum space. I'll try posting another one that I liked, "Life is Like a Cup of Coffee." Guess it doesn't fit the "Obituary" title of this thread, but certainly has some good advice about life. And I'll be on the lookout for your big brother at Sammamish Plateau! No spring in the Pacific Northwest yet, perhaps next week, they say.

Alice