I want to share a link to a man’s blog that I found interesting. Derek Miller detailed the process of dying while suffering from stage 4 metastatic colorectal cancer. His family posted his last comments the day after his official date of death—very brave and yet honoring. You can read it here: http://www.penmachine.com/2011/05/the-last-post#comments.
After writing GRAVE Reflections, I knew there would be plenty of comments about death, dying and funerals but I feel like I am constantly learning new perspectives on this fascinating industry from those outside the industry. It is still so very sad when families come in to pre-arrange their Loved One’s funeral because they are in hospice and soon to be gone forever. However, I am encouraged knowing that there are others besides we, in the funeral industry, that face death as a reality. Why avoid the conversation or continue to procrastinate until it is someone else’s problem?
I will keep you posted if the details of Derek’s funeral are made public but I suspect there won’t be anything public. You see, some have now taken the opportunity to make comments that are far less respectful since he is no longer here to defend his position on life and the process of dying. I didn’t know him but his respect for life was very real and he served to communicate the process of dying to portray this love for life and especially as a treasured memory for his family. He left a living document that many will still build upon.
