My uncle died last Thursday, or rather, he was found dead in his apartment last Thursday, time of death and cause of death uncertain. I’m pretty sure whatever the immediate cause, the ultimate cause was his lifetime of alcholism.
Anyway, I found his obituary online and there’s a “virtual guestbook” I can sign. I can get extra points with my mom if she finds my entry there.
What can I write? I didn’t like him much, more felt sorry him than anything. He was just kind of a hapless, sad sack
He did try to be a good uncle to me when he could summon up the focus and I was startled to receive the occasional birthday card. We were all stunned to learn that he had a paid up life insurance policy naming the one sibling doing even less well than him as beneficiary.
so help me out, you dopers can come up with some great turns of phrase, glurgy is fine, but has to be believable or my mom will call bullshit on me.
Thanks for any ideas.
Dear Uncle Bob: I’ll always remember [whatever happy/nice memory you can dig up]. Life dealt you a bad hand, but you played it as well as you could. May you be at peace.
I think you should not post anything. You didn’t like him.
My husband’s drunken uncle died last October. No one liked him, but there was a time when he wasn’t as horrid as he was later in life. My SIL said that she remembered that he took the time to teach her how to gap the plugs on her car. It was true and it was a nice thing. You can come up with something like that.
It’s possible to write a thoughtful note of condolence without having liked the person who died. You can express sympathy for their loss to those who did like or love him; you can express regret for a human life ended; you can acknowledge the person’s positive accomplishments. And the OP said she didn’t like Uncle Bob much, not didn’t like him at all. Uncle Bob does not seem to have been a total waste of humanity, just a person who had an unfortunate life, whether by his own choices or just bad luck.
Mr. S had a friend like this: never really did anything with himself, probably mental illness involved. Your basic pathetic loser who never tried. When he died, it was still possible to feel regret for a wasted life. We went to the service and told his parents that we were sorry for their loss. It’s a simple and thoughtful thing to do.