In Memoriam: Remembering Classmates at the Reunion
I'll never forget the story of my girlfriend's brother,John. He was three years younger than us and had always lived life on the edge. Sex, drugs and heavier drugs.
Therefore at the twentieth high school reunion, many of his classmates were not surprised to see his name listed among the "dearly departed" in their printed directory. "Too bad about John. He was a great guy, but I didn't really think he'd live this long," were typical comments.
There was, however, one person who was very surprised to read about John in the memorial pages- and that was John. He could say as did Mark Twain, "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Indeed John was alive and well.
How did this happen? Well the reporter in this case, didn't check his/her sources.
Whenever I hear about the passing of a classmate, I always try to get three people to corroborate the story and then verify it with a search in the Social Security Administration's Death Index (SSDI) which is available to the public through a couple sites. I like one genealogy site: http://www.genealogybank.com/gbnk/ssdi/?kbid=9064&m=9
This is nicely arranged so you can search on name, last known place of residence, birth date/year, and several other parameters. A match will confirm birth and death dates, age at death, full name, social security number, etc.
If you find your classmate there, only then can you report their passing with certainty.
Avoid making the mistake John's classmate did, for your "not quite dearly departed" may not have a sense of humor about it.
Any other stories out there?
Therefore at the twentieth high school reunion, many of his classmates were not surprised to see his name listed among the "dearly departed" in their printed directory. "Too bad about John. He was a great guy, but I didn't really think he'd live this long," were typical comments.
There was, however, one person who was very surprised to read about John in the memorial pages- and that was John. He could say as did Mark Twain, "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Indeed John was alive and well.
How did this happen? Well the reporter in this case, didn't check his/her sources.
Whenever I hear about the passing of a classmate, I always try to get three people to corroborate the story and then verify it with a search in the Social Security Administration's Death Index (SSDI) which is available to the public through a couple sites. I like one genealogy site: http://www.genealogybank.com/gbnk/ssdi/?kbid=9064&m=9
This is nicely arranged so you can search on name, last known place of residence, birth date/year, and several other parameters. A match will confirm birth and death dates, age at death, full name, social security number, etc.
If you find your classmate there, only then can you report their passing with certainty.
Avoid making the mistake John's classmate did, for your "not quite dearly departed" may not have a sense of humor about it.
Any other stories out there?
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