By Elizabeth Barhydt
This week we have two full pages of obituaries as we catch up a from our holiday pause on printing the paper. We believe devoting this space to obituaries is important and worth doing but it does limit the space in this issue for other things. We do not charge for obituaries. It is a free service we offer for good reason.
Obituaries are more than announcements. They are tributes that celebrate and preserve the stories of those who have shaped our community. At the New Canaan Sentinel, we believe in the power of these narratives to honor the memory of loved ones, connect families with the community, and ensure legacies endure for future generations. As poet Thomas Campbell wrote, “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”
The history of obituaries in newspapers is as old as the medium itself. In ancient Rome, public notices of significant deaths were inscribed for citizens to read. By the 17th century, newspapers began dedicating space to the lives of the recently deceased, initially focusing on prominent figures. Over time, obituaries evolved into an art form, chronicling both the extraordinary and everyday contributions of individuals. These tributes became a cornerstone of journalism, offering glimpses into the lives of those who shaped their communities.
Some obituaries have achieved renown for their ability to distill a life into a few poignant lines. The New York Times obituary for Abraham Lincoln began, “Washington, Wednesday, April 19 — Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth President of the United States, a man whose life has been a light and inspiration to a free people, died at 7:22 a.m., April 15, 1865, succumbing to the wounds inflicted upon him by an assassin.” More recently, the New York Times honored Maya Angelou with the opening, “Maya Angelou, the memoirist and poet whose landmark book ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ was among the first to openly discuss the racism and personal trauma experienced by Black women, died on Wednesday.”
Closer to home, I had the privilege of writing the obituary for my mother, Ceia Webb. It began, “Harriet Cordelia (Ceia) Webb, a master in the arts of grit, faith, and courage, died in New Milford, CT, at the age of 81, while visiting her children and grandchildren on the morning of July 26, 2019.” These words remain deeply meaningful to me and serve as a reminder of the enduring importance of this tradition.
At the New Canaan Sentinel, we are grateful to the contributors of the Sentinel Foundation, whose generosity ensures that we can publish obituaries without charging families. This commitment allows us to honor every member of our community, regardless of financial circumstances, and underscores the importance of accessible remembrance, particularly in print. While many publications have moved to paid obituaries, we remain dedicated to providing this service as a way to strengthen the bonds of community and to celebrate lives without burdening grieving families.
We encourage readers and community members to share the stories and lives of their loved ones within our pages. Obituaries can include personal anecdotes, family photographs, and longer tributes that reflect the uniqueness of each individual.
Obituaries are, at their heart, about connection. They remind us, teach us, inform our past and future, give us perspective, and often offer grace. As a newspaper, we are honored to carry forward this tradition, ensuring that the lives of our community members are celebrated and remembered.
Our hope is that generations from now, the words in these obituaries will be found as clippings in scrapbooks or online in ancestral research. These stories will continue to connect the future and the past in meaningful and beautiful ways.
