By morning, people had added their own postscripts in pen. He taught me to tie a fly. He buried my stillborn son and cried with me. He gave me a job when no one else would.
When she finished, the obituary was 1,400 words. Far too long for the Willow Creek Gazette . But she printed it anyway, and Sarah taped it to the funeral home’s front door. declue funeral home obits
Margaret kept going, not as an obituary, but as a letter. She wrote about the time Henry refinanced the funeral home’s mortgage to buy a stray dog a $4,000 surgery. About how he sang off-key to every body he prepared, saying, “Can’t send ‘em off in silence.” About the way he held her hand at the movies even when his arthritis screamed. By morning, people had added their own postscripts in pen
She smiled. Then she walked back inside, sat at the oak desk, and began writing the next obituary. Not because she had to. But because every life deserved a story, and Henry had taught her that the best ones didn't end with passed away . He gave me a job when no one else would
Here’s a short story inspired by the phrase "Declue Funeral Home Obits."