Real estate brokers lead obits to get a line on listings. Lawyers read them to try to anticipate getting the estate. Life insurance agents read them to give advance notice to the insurance company that there is a claim coming. Burglars use them to figure out where there are houses with no one home. Cops read them to try to get ahead of the burglars. I read them for the perverse satisfaction I get in seeing the name of one more person I have survived, plus occasionally finding out that some jerk got what he had coming.
I read them , as well.
We found out that a friend of the family had passed away, and we wold not have known, if i did not get a newspaper, and had read the obituaries.
I read them every day. When my parents died, alot of their friends were very good to us so if I see that any of those people are in the obituaries, I always send a card or if it was someone closer then I try to attend the funeral.
Read 'em? I collect 'em! I have a four-drawer filing cabinet stuffed woith obiuts I’ve collected over the past 30 years, and others I’ve Xeroxed at the library. Of course, I do write about show biz and celebs, so it IS kind of a professional pursuit . . .
I mean I DON’T “Check them out” per say. They check out on their own if you get me.
However When I’m mulling through the newspapers I flip through the Obits too. It’s not morbid it’s just one of those things where you just might come across someone you know or a REALLY important “In The Public Eye” kind of person who passed away. Here in N.Y. there’s little picture memorials too to go along with the families Homily on the pages. hey, its nice I guess.
Think about it? Your dead and every year people ALWAYS remember you, they never forget…thats pretty nice to have that much of an impression on people.
You’d be surprised at how many people read them!
It’s an “old people thing” all right. But that’s just because old people have enough time and too little energy, so they can finish the whole paper.
The trend that catches me off guard is seeing old photos in with the rememberance columns. My first reaction is “oh dear, some young lady just died.” But then I see the hairdo is from the twenties and I realize she is now in her hundreds. Why have a young picture of an old lady?
Yep. I read them every day. Of course I’m looking to see which funeral home is going to call and curse us for making a mistake, since I’m the nameless guy in my town who, two days a week, writes them as part of my job as a reporter at the local morning paper. (it’s a small staff and the job rotates among the three full time reporters during the week)