Ever since I worked in fundraising, I have been a regular reader of obituaries in the newspaper. I used to receive the Hamilton Spectator daily, and always read through the obits to see if I knew anyone connected to a recent death, and also just to gain a better understanding of my community. You can learn a lot from the obits!
Here in Newfoundland, we are not able to get a print subscription to the St. John’s Telegram, although the Corner Stop – the variety store that is a 25 minutes walk from our house (or a 3 minute drive) – does carry the paper. From time to time, I have picked up a copy. I guess this ages me, but I don’t get the same satisfaction from reading an online paper as I do from reading a real newspaper, with my morning coffee.
The obits in the Telegram are distinctly different than the obits in the Spectator. For one thing, they reflect the relative homogeneity of the population. In Hamilton, the obits were full of Italian and Portuguese names, along with Anglo names and other European and non-European names. In this past Saturday’s Telegram, there were 14 obits, and all of them had Anglo names. Almost all of the obits followed a similar pattern – half to three-quarters of the obit was dedicated to listing the people and pets left behind; I especially liked the obit that read that the deceased would be “deeply missed by his companion Skippy the cat”. There was relatively little information about the people who died, except perhaps a mention of where they worked and which sports teams they supported. There was one obit that was notably different, with lots of information about the life of the person who died, but she was the wife of a former lieutenant-governor. Everyone’s joy was stated to be their family, and I think this might actually be true; family seems to be so valued here. As someone who has no close remaining family members (other than my wonderful in-laws), I envy this. If I die in Newfoundland and there is an obit published, my list of “people left behind” will be pretty small, although my list of cats who predeceased me may make up for it.
Very touching post, Jennifer. Interesting connection to family pets. Is there a preference for cats in Newfoundland (reflecting Anglo roots?)
I’m not sure if there’s a preference for cats over dogs, but I do sense that people LOVE their cats here. Just take a look at the Cats of Newfoundland Facebook page to see what I mean. Les thinks that dogs may still be seen in the context of their utilitarian benefits.
If you listed the friends you left behind, Jennifer, it would be a long list. Long and very interesting.
Family of choice! 🙂
I was going to offer a similar sentiment as Bill’s – ‘family’ can have many definitions. In my experience, it is not uncommon that friends become like ‘family’ – sometimes even more so than blood relatives. And, make no mistake Jennifer we Sasakis consider you part of our ‘family’!
Thank you sis!
Based on my extensive knowledge of Nfld geography ( i.e. a 15 second trawl of google maps) you’re not very far from St John’s, and there seem to be lots of communities between the two points. Is the Telegram not being available there another marker of the slow demise of print newspapers?
Hi Ross! St. John’s is about a 2 1/2 hour drive away. The Telegram stopped home delivery beyond the Avalon Peninsula – the part that sticks out at the bottom right of the province with St. John’s on it – a few years ago, to save costs. So we can get it at the local store, but not delivered to the house. We would totally subscribe for home delivery if we could.
Funny and tender piece, Jennifer!
Interesting that people mention their pets in their obits – I’ve rarely seen that.
The list of people who would miss you if you died is long indeed – your chosen family.
Xoxo