It seems strange to be writing one's own obituary, but that's the way life and death go. When I was in college I chauffeured an elderly retired judge who wrote his own obituary for the newspaper. The least I can do is write mine for The Quaker Economist, the journal I founded eight years ago.

When it happened I realised that I, like many of us, had neither the public ritual nor the private knowledge to tell me how to get through this. I needed to talk to those who had already lived through it, and who could tell me what had helped them. I wanted to talk about my father with those who had cared about him. Lastly, and almost most importantly, I wanted the close friends of mine who had never met my parents to know what had happened. And I wasn't sure how far it was reasonable to ask for any of this from anyone.

Talk of the Nation, December 31, 2008 · Talk of the Nation reached out to friends and colleagues at NPR to ask them to remind us of some of the remarkable people who died in 2008. Here are their responses:

Studs Terkel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author whose searching interviews with ordinary Americans helped establish oral history as a serious genre, and who for decades was the voluble host of a popular radio show in Chicago, died Friday at his home there. He was 96.

He was born on June 11, 1911 in Norway, the son of the late Max and Mary (Scavarda) Vielmetti.

Alfio A. Vielmetti, 96, of Norway, died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008, at ManorCare Health Services in Kingsford.

Reverend Monsignor Louis C. Cappo, 87, Rector of St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette, died early Monday morning, December 10, 2007, at Marquette General Hospital where he had been hospitalized a few days.

obituary in soo news

legacy

aggregator for news about shakey jake in Ann Arbor via outside.in

While attending Northern, she worked part-time as a student assistant in the Office of the President, and one month before commencement, was asked to take over the duties as secretary to the president until a permanent replacement could be found. Short

ann arbor news account of shakin' jake woods funeral

rest in peace

Long-time local legend "Shaky Jake" Woods died Sunday at the age of 82. Ann Arbor's street corner ambiance will never be the same. Read the article on mlive and share your memories of Jake.

In 2004, Ed Special assembled some recordings of Jake done back in the 70s at WCBN and produced the CD On The Move on the 120° Hot Fat Bacon Records label, an ingenious collection of stories, jokes, and music which sounds like the bastard child of John L

He was one of my favorite teachers at MSHS. What sticks out in my mind is planting pine trees by the tennis courts. Also when we learned more about weather. I remember him telling us that almost exactly 6 months after the first thunder and lightning st

Edward Gramlich, a distinguished economics professor and the former dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, died Wednesday of leukemia. He was 68.

He published hundreds of papers on the relationship between exercise and longevity and delighted in applying his findings to his own life, wearing a pedometer late in life to track how far he walked every day. His second wife, JoAnn, whom he married in 19

Ecclesiastical orders melted at the church door in Marquette, Michigan, on Friday, June 8, as 600 people touched by the life and stunned by the death of Jim Kelsey, an Episcopalian in the Diocese of Northern Michigan, gathered for his funeral. Concurrent

He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline Ann (Messing) Schumacher of Sherman Township; five daughters, Michelle Seidl and her husband, Gerard, of Croswell, Kathleen Hall and her husband, Thomas, of Livonia, Francine Kinsella and her husband, Robert, of San

Kennedy, Marylou Age 62, died peacefully and went to be with the Lord on April 1, 2007 after an almost five year battle with lung cancer. She passed away at University Hospital with her loving family by her side.

He is survived by his wife, Suzanne Swaine, whom he married in 1952; two children, Abigail Swaine of Brookline, Mass., and Edward Swaine of Arlington, Va.; two grandsons and one granddaughter; and his sister, Patricia Newman of Los Angeles

The poet and teacher Julia Casterton heard the news that she had won a national competition for poems based on the word "fishing" a week before her death at the age of 54.

SKANDIA — Nationally recognized wildlife artist John Heath age 78, peacefully passed away February 24, 2007 after a lengthy illness.

he was my high school chemistry and physics teacher

review of Who's Who in Hell, book about a fictional British obituary-writer

remembering leslie

guest book in memory of bernie galler

ANN ARBOR - Edward Charles Weber, longtime curator of the University of Michigan's Labadie Collection, a self-described bohemian, and a beloved figure in Ann Arbor's gay community for over fifty years, died at his home April 11, 2006. He was 83 and had be

Toronto-based urban critic and author Jane Jacobs died Tuesday morning.

Jane Jacobs opposed expressways and supported renewal of downtown areas. (CBC)

Jane Jacobs opposed expressways and supported renewal of downtown areas. (CBC)
Jacobs, author of

Hire a freelance writer to write an obituary, rather than rely on the staff at the local paper.

Everyone knew her as Nano. Nancy Osborn, age 42, died in her Ann Arbor home Sunday, in the arms of her husband, surrounded by family, after living with cancer for 10 years.

obituary for Canham, age 87

audio of the bells of Rome ringing

in memory of Ian and Fiona's grandfather

invented pelletizing process

memories of Earl Hilton

this and sesame street were staples of my childhood