Reading the Obituaries

I have now officially reached middle age: I read the obituaries of people I do not know. Perhaps there is a name for this condition... I find it helps me be thankful -- thankful my name's not there. And humble -- a lot of people who sound like really great folks I would like to have known, die. The following listings were just a small part of the notices on June 23rd in the Columbus Dispatch...

Jessie Elizabeth Rowlands, only 66 years old... Beautiful blonde hair and sunny smile, her photo shows. She attended Columbus College of Art and design. She was an amateur artist who sold floral paintings to boutiques in LA. She did koi paintings and was a "wonderful mother. Her humanity, energy, and wit will be sorely missed." I don't know her, but I feel sad.

Jesika Renee Smith, age 18, "landed in the arms of the angels" recently. We are told nothing about her. James David "JD" Mansfield, just two years older than my eldest son, died suddenly ... "as a result of an accident at home." He "loved sports, hunting and fishing, but most of all his 2-year-old daughter." It sounds like he had a big family and I imagine every holiday and hunting trip and fishing expedition... every time that family gets together, he will be very missed.

Steve R. O'Donnell, age 69, also "passed away suddenly as a result of an accident." He founded Goal Systems Computer Software Co.

Fred Rubeck lived at Walnut Grove Campground. He died last Monday due to an accident there.

I'm going to be much more careful around the house.

Lester Bosco Roberts died at age 97 after "a short illness." "Lester was a part of a research team that studied the extreme longevity of residents in the country Hunza in the 1950's." I didn't know about that. "He conducted research in areas as diverse as why rocking calms babies and keeping sterile environments in space travel." He had no children and lived on his own until six weeks before his death. It seems to me that Mr. Roberts knew a thing or two and I would have loved to have known him.

John A. Webb, age 31, died also. He is survived by his wife and his former wife and his children: Trinity, Katrina, John Jr., Jacob, Kassandra, Kara, Chad, Little John and Katie King. I really hope Mr. Webb carried sufficient life insurance. Nine children will miss him.

Cahi Lee Wong died at age 89. She was associated with the Tai Wan Restaurant in Columbus and along with the many surviving family members, her obituary lists "great-grand dogs, Bella, Romeo, Sidney and Shadow." I hope when my time comes, my family lists my pets in the obituary.

This ten minutes spent each day reading about the ending of strangers' lives might seem a little odd to some. But I think it gives me a good perspective. Life is short, temporary, unpredictable and death happens to everyone in ways and at times that don't make sense. It's a good thing to keep in mind when faced with the ups and downs of life here in Middle America.