There's a sea change in obituaries: Glam pics

[UTUSN]

Besides that at my Old Coot age there are lots more younger than me in the obits, plus these days I can see somebody I think is "old" and more often than not when I get to talk to them they turn out to be YOUNGER than I am!1 Disgusting!1


Anyway, first there were the standard obits, just the facts, occasionally some that were more descriptive and creative, then most of them having pictures adjoined whether they added anything or not. Sometimes with the wildass Boomers, there are some bizarre ones around the theme of "free spirit" or some nutso nicknames.

But very recently there have been some glam-shots, mostly of women in their 30s/40s.

[HopeHoops]

1. I prefer the "what they last looked like" pictures. It's hard to mentally age early pictures.

Now for early teens, yearbook photos are quite appropriate. Most will recognize them. We just lost a 20 year old to suicide (heroin issues) but her photo was quite attractive. That's the way for her friends to remember her.

[femmocrat]

2. If that is how they wish to be remembered, what does it matter?

I appreciate seeing the ones of the WW II and other vets in their uniforms, when they were so young and handsome. I think that's a nice way to remember them.

Someone will probably create a website of "Bizarre Obituary Photos"-- if they already haven't!

[UTUSN]

3. Just hadn't seen that particular genre there before

A friend of mine, in her 50s, who is fixated on her appearance, has standing orders with her family and hairdresser that she will be "done up" perfectly (as always) *and* will have stiletto heels put on, will NOT go barefeet.

[struggle4progress]

4. Better that than the post-mortem photo popular among Victorians imo

[pipi_k]

5. I was such a dumb child

Back when I was a kid and I would sometimes see photos in the obits, it never occurred to me that the photos had already been taken.

Yes...I thought they were photos of the people after they were dead. And it just freaked me out wondering how they got a dead guy to smile.

[UTUSN]

6. "got a dead guy to smile" - Well, you had a concept of death. It was just scary to me. n/t

[DebJ]

7. I miss the obits of the old days that actually told you something.

Stories about their lives, names of family members, etc.
Today they seem to say "he's dead", period.

But then again, I am into ancestry research. I read a LOT of obits.
Small town obits are the best.

[femmocrat]

8. We still have those here.

In fact, they are more detailed than they used to be, often including the names of pets and listing the person's hobbies and interests.

It is expensive to print an obituary, so maybe the families are trying to save money by just printing essential information.

[DebJ]

12. I am sure it is the expense; funerals are outrageous.

That's why I want to be cremated. If there is an ultimate rip-off, it is
spending outrageous sums of money on my dead body.

I also read a lot of old newspapers, really old, like the Washington Post
in the 1910s. Fascinating, good stories with personal details. People
read the paper back then because it was worthwhile to read it.

[PassingFair]

9. It bothers me because I see the picture and think "So YOUNG!"....

and then I see that they are in their 60's or 70's and have pictures
of themselves when they were MUCH younger in position.

I'm thinking of having my survivors use a baby pic of me.

[UTUSN]

10. Yes "so young" but the ones I'm talking about are a new generation, in their 30s/40s

and the difference for me was seeing the relatively recent fad of "glamor shots" that I wasn't used to seeing there. I don't mean the kinds of obits with the deceased being elderly but with a picture of when they were young. These are young (usually) women with the glam shots.

[HeiressofBickworth]

11. As if you needed another time-waster

check out www.findagrave.com. It's a collection of obituaries, pictures and grave markers. I do genealogy research so I have occasion to look at the site. I particularly like the ones that show the individual as a young adult and as they were later in life. The obituaries are interesting -- some had a long and active life, others with lives drawn short by accident or violence. And there have been a few that brought tears to my eyes.