We are always sad when the top of the news is an untimely death. This week we said goodbye to another young star, Sawyer Sweeten. We also commemorated the passing of the model for the iconic Rosie the Riveter poster, Mary Doyle Keefe. Also in the headlines is word that China will begin to crack down on the questionable tradition of hiring funeral strippers. Other topics range from near death experiences to the discovery of the oldest known cremation site.
Digital Dying Weekly News: 4/24/2015
From Sawyer Sweeten To Corey Haim: The Psychological Curse Of Child Stardom
Apr 24, 2015–Yahoo Health: Former child star Sawyer Sweeten, who played the twin Geoffrey Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond, died on Thursday of an apparent suicide. He was 19. Sweeten began his acting career at 16 months old, starring on the comedy, which ran from 1996 to 2005… Read the full story
China Says Please Stop Hiring Funeral Strippers
Apr 23, 2015–The Wall Street Journal China: In China, friends and family of the deceased may have to do without a special form of funereal entertainment: strippers. According to a statement from the Ministry of Culture on Thursday, the government plans to work closely with the police to eliminate such performances, which are held with the goal of drawing more mourners… Read the full story
Related:
- What a send-off: China’s funeral strippers told to cover up
- Inside the hot and noisy world of Taiwan’s Stripper Funerals
Mary Doyle Keefe poses with the 1943 cover of the Saturday Evening Post, for which she had modeled as “Rosie the Riveter” in a Norman Rockwell painting. (Photo Source: CNN)
The model for Norman Rockwell’s ‘Rosie the Riveter’ dies at 92
Apr 23, 2015–The Washington Post: You know Mary Doyle Keefe, but maybe not by that name. In 1943, the then-19-year-old telephone operator had been called upon to provide a unique kind of service during the war effort: Become the face of dedicated patriotism from the home front… Read the full story
Why People Are Turning To Home Funerals
Apr 23, 2015–Huffington Post Live (Video): Funeral services have become a standard part of how we deal with the deaths of loved ones, but could tending to the deceased from home be a better way to go? Our panel explores the benefits and complexities of planning a home funeral… Watch the video
Cesar Chavez during his naval years. (Photo Source: Cesar Chavez Foundation)
Hundreds Gather to Honor Cesar Chavez’s Navy Service
Apr 23, 2015–ABC News: Hundreds gathered Thursday to see military honors bestowed at the graveside of Cesar Chavez, and despite more than two decades passing since his death, his sister said she felt his presence, just as he brought life to the farmworkers’ movement on the fields of Central California… Read the full story
Near Death Experiences: People Who Have ‘Clinically Died’ Reveal Their Stories About Life After Death On Reddit
Apr 20, 2015: Huffington Post UK: What happens when we die? It’s a question that has divided scientists and religious leaders for centuries, not to mention groups of friends down the pub. But we may be one step closer to knowing the answer… Read the full story
What A Small-Town Obituary Writer Can Teach Us All About Living
Apr 19, 2015–Huff Post Life Book: In the healthiest sense possible, Heather Lende has an intimate relationship with death. She is the longtime obituary writer in her small Alaska hometown of Haines, having memorialized some 400 departed locals, neighbors, and friends. She volunteers at the hospice center and had her own close brush with oblivion… Read the full story.
The five questions people wish they’d asked a loved one before it was too late…
Apr 18, 2015–DailyMailUK.com: When Michael McQueen’s father died suddenly from a heart attack in 2004, the author discovered the true significance of written memories. Heartbroken at losing his confidant, a then 22-year-old Michael was shattered at having never asked his father some of the most important questions in life. However, while sorting out his beloved father’s belongings in the days after his death, Michael found his 51-year-old dad Bill’s journal, filled with heart-wrenching and inspirational anecdotes to keep his memory alive… Read the full story
3 Ways to Plan for Your Funeral Expenses
Apr 17, 2015–US News & World Report: Now that the nation has made it past Tax Day, it’s time to talk about life’s other inevitable event: death. While not a subject many are eager to contemplate, funeral planning is something that must be done at some point. Even for those who don’t want a traditional service and burial, some final arrangements must be made. Here are three commonly used approaches… Read the full story
Visit Funeralwise.com for more information on planning your funeral
Burying Edward Abbey: The last act of defiance
Apr 17, 2015–azcentral.com: It was late in the day when the trucks reached their destination, and the four men stepped out into the backcountry of western Arizona. In the back of the trucks, they had enough gear for a few nights of camping — cases of beer, baling wire and tools for repairs, shovels for digging. And they had a body bag full of dry ice and the corpse of Edward Abbey… Read the full story
