Cliches About The Dead

Great post on the obituary writer's forum of more than a hundred obit cliches. Whenever someone tells me that the deceased would have "given the shirt off his back to help someone" I always ask if anyone actually saw him give the shirt off his back to someone - it shatters the cliche. One woman said, "you know, now that you ask, we were walking down the street and she took off her shoes and gave them to a homeless person."

Here's the post:

Died doing what s/he loved

An avid (noun)

Never met a stranger

A Renaissance (wo)man

Now sitting next to (golfing with/fishing with/tipping cows with, etc.) Jesus

A giving/caring individual

Would give you the shirt off his back

Always there for you/me

Would do anything for anybody

Only saw the best in people

Chose his own path (walked to the beat of his own drummer, etc)

Friend to all, enemy of none

Man (woman) of the world

Smile lit up the room

Didn't suffer fools