Reading the Obits

Good morning!  And a great good morning it is.  I am posting my notes about the weekly obituary reading later than usual as I did indeed have a birth to attend on Monday, and post-partum visits to make on Tuesday.  So without further ado, here are some highlights (and low lights) from this weeks obits.

Nicknames - You would think that nicknames would not need to be a part of an obituary.  This is after all, a part of the present that will be preserved for future generations, not a baseball line-up.  And you might also think that people would know if your name is John or Jack that you have been called Johnny or Jackie a time or two in your life.

However, if your name is Charles Edward it is not always going to occur to people that your nickname is Heinie.  Or Stephanie otherwise known as "Taffie".  How about Ira a.k.a. Polie?

I might have figured out that James William Waggonner goes by "Wag".  I don't know that I could have actually CALLED him Wag, but I would have understood that one!

Almost everyone here either passed away or went to be with the Lord.  We had a few creative obit writers who used these euphemisms:

was welcomed into heaven by his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.


passed into his Lord's hands.


peacefully passed away.


passed peacefully.


passed into eternity.


went to join her Heavenly Father.


passed away unexpectedly.


was called home.


was welcomed into heaven.


Now, onto family names.  Sometimes in a family you see that there was a pattern to naming the kids, like this one:  The siblings were Troy, Todd, and Trent.  Son is Trey All the cute names were in the older generations, like Arthur and Stancie, Goldie, Sidney and Stanley.

In another family we have Wilma Lucille who was born to Elizabeth Cathcart Vernon Duke and Luther Vernon.  Wilma Lucille had a beautiful picture and appeared to be a happy woman full of fun.  Here is a really nice passage her family shared : "Joe courted her and she agreed to marry him only if she could be his partner. Harnessed side by side to the plow, not walking two steps behind with her head down.  And so began their life that was love story until Joe died in August 1973 after a long battle with cancer."

And lastly but not leastly, Willidean Stubbs who was born to Etta and Lee Ayers in Eufula, OK.  Willidean was married to Bogner Stubbs.  Her siblings were Duane, Ralph, Dick, Bill and Ila Mae.  You just don't see many Willideans or Ettas or Ila Maes anymore.  People are too busy naming their kids things like Britney, Brittany, Brittaney, Chelsea, and whatever the current pop star flavor of the month is.

Sadly, most all the causes of death listed were cancer or Alzheimer's.  But that is only a small percentage of the obituaries because most people aren't listing a cause of death.  Even Wilma Lucille, they didn't list her cause of death but they put in that her husband had died of the cancer back in 1973.

That's all the news that was fit to repeat.  Have a great day!