why do obituaries never give cause of death?

[ericthered]

Didn't know where to put this, death is more like non-health, but anyway.

Why in the hell do they not give the cause of death? The first question in one's mind when reading an obituary, and they leave it out.

I suspect fear of the public spotting outbreaks or trends.

[Leonard Rouse]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Didn't know where to put this, death is more like non-health, but anyway.

Why in the hell do they not give the cause of death? The first question in one's mind when reading an obituary, and they leave it out.

I suspect fear of the public spotting outbreaks or trends.

Because it's none of your business.

EDIT: And by 'your,' I mean 'our'.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Leonard Rouse

Because it's none of your business.

True, it's not, as is much of what is reported about people in the media. That point hasn't seemed to deter them any in other matters.

I can understand in some cases where the family might not want it stated, but otherwise what's the big deal.

Inquiring minds want to know!

[Leonard Rouse]

Originally Posted by ericthered

True, it's not, as is much of what is reported about people in the media. That point hasn't seemed to deter them any in other matters.

I can understand in some cases where the family might not want it stated, but otherwise what's the big deal.

Inquiring minds want to know!

Heh, yeah.

You can sometimes figure it out. If the family requests that memorials may be sent to the American Cancer Society, Heart Association, etc, then you can sort-of pin it down. If the deceased was a teenager or in their early 20s, we may suspect a car accident or the like.

The vast majority of people don't die from issues that are acute matters of public health. They just die. The family has no obligation to reveal all information in an obituary. If the decedent's cause of death be a matter of public record, the onus is on the media to reveal that in their journalistic capacity. Obituaries are glorified classified ads.

[SUNOFSPARTA]

Because unfortunately,usualy,after an entire life time of work and effort,in the end- the shit all too often seems to come first.



David Carradine, Actor, Is Dead at 72

Published: June 4, 2009
David Carradine, an enigmatic actor who never outran the cult status he earned in the 1970s television series “Kung Fu” — even though he went on to star as Woody Guthrie in the film “Bound for Glory” and as the title character in Quentin Tarantino’s twin thrillers, “Kill Bill” Volumes I and II — was found dead on Thursday in a hotel room in Bangkok, where he was filming a new movie. He was 72 and lived in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles.
David Carradine in 'Kung Fu: The Movie' (Youtube.com)The police in Bangkok are treating the death as a suicide, The Associated Press reported, though Mr. Carradine’s manager of six years, Chuck Binder, said he didn’t believe this was the case.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/mo...dine.html?_r=0

[Dave from New York]

What's interesting is how detailed obits used to be years ago. Here's one from around my area circa 1888:



Last Saturday evening about ten o'clock, Walter A. Heard, one of the wealthiest citizens of the village, was found dead in bed at his residence on the corner of Main and Gorham streets. When found he was lying in bed, holding a book in his right hand, and had evidently been reading when death came. The time of his death, of course, cannot be ascertained, but it is believed that he had been dead some time when discovered. The judgment of the physicians is that death resulted from paralysis of the heart. He was a single man, 57 years of age, and leaves two sisters.

[Donnie in Ohio]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Didn't know where to put this, death is more like non-health, but anyway.

Why in the hell do they not give the cause of death? The first question in one's mind when reading an obituary, and they leave it out.

Watch Phantasm. Then stop asking questions.

'Cuda 'Cuda!

[Olesia Rhoswen]

Spotting trends would be a small part of it. In school I mentioned to a friend of my intent to map out crime in the area (as there had been a number of incidents) and their reaction was 'What for? Don't try to make yourself afraid of something that isn't a big problem.' Something along those lines. Fear wasn't the issue- it was more a project to help avoid the hot spots and identify the common perpetrators, as the list of crimes involving friends as victims was growing.

Most cases of sexual assault around the school were not publicly reported. I think they want to give mom and dad the impression that school was still a safe environment for their little girl. Privacy for the victim would be an issue, as even if they don't publish names somebody always knows somebody who knows what happens at school.

Privacy would be a large part of why obituaries exclude cause of death. Families would not necessarily want to hear about how your uncle died the same way, yada yada ya, when they are trying to let their own loved one rest in peace.

[Donnie in Ohio]

I've taken great pains to assure everyone that is close to me understands that I want my obituary to say I died from being mauled by a Polar Bear.

Because 300 years from now, when some curious distant relative looks up their ancestors, boom. They have a story to tell.

That's just me. Considerate to the absolute end.

[Leonard Rouse]

Originally Posted by Dave from New York

What's interesting is how detailed obits used to be years ago. Here's one from around my area circa 1888:



Last Saturday evening about ten o'clock, Walter A. Heard, one of the wealthiest citizens of the village, was found dead in bed at his residence on the corner of Main and Gorham streets. When found he was lying in bed, holding a book in his right hand, and had evidently been reading when death came. The time of his death, of course, cannot be ascertained, but it is believed that he had been dead some time when discovered. The judgment of the physicians is that death resulted from paralysis of the heart. He was a single man, 57 years of age, and leaves two sisters.

Interesting. That reads like a news report (like the Carradine report quoted in part above) rather than a modern obituary.

I wonder: When did the modern obituary (and practice of placing them) take form?

I'm guessing the rise of funeral homes and newspapers have a lot to do with it. So probably sometime after the 'Civil' War. 1890s maybe? 1920s? Wild guesses.

[ericthered]

In contrast to the tight-lipped obituaries, our local news outlets give great detail in describing auto accidents. I get a chuckle out of them every time I hear them,

"A 32 year old Hartville woman was injured today when she lost control of the vehicle she was driving and ran off the road, hit a culvert, rolled three times, struck a tree, and came to rest upside down in a creek. She was rushed to a local hospital and is listed in fair condition"

[Leonard Rouse]

Yep. Car accidents sell local papers/corral viewers.

[littlefieldjohn]

The deceased family writes the obit and sends it to get published so it's up to them , and like Leonard pointed out they often want the details kept private. Sorry if someone already pointed this out. I've seen plenty of "after a valiant struggle against.... " ones anyway. The obituary section, besides the weather and classifieds, is about the only section I can usually stomach in my metro paper.

[Brenna Wolf]

The family pays for the obit as part of the funeral costs, what they say goes. Nothing is 'complimentary.'

[Roy]

Funny you ask this question. It's one I've wondered about too.

You'll see a death notice that says, "died suddenly". That can mean so much. It could be suicide, or a car crash, or even natural causes like a heart attack or stroke.

It wouldn't hurt to know what happened. BTW, an obituary isn't the same as a death notice.

OBITUARIES are staff-written news stories. We cannot honor all requests. Nor can we guarantee they will run on a certain day. There is no charge for obituaries.

DEATH NOTICES are paid ads that are guaranteed to run. Call the Detroit Newspapers classified advertising department at 800-WANT ADS or 800-926-8237 (option 5). Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Monday-Friday.

In both cases though, they don't usually name the cause of death.

[Squarehead Chris]

I read a while back where many published obituaries were no longer stating the date, time, and place of the memorial services for the deceased.
It seems that criminals were looking up the addresses of the deceased and using the time of the services to go rob their houses, knowing that nobody would be home.
They would also rob the neighbors houses figuring that they were friends of the deceased and would also not be home.

Fucking ghouls.

Sounds a little too smart to be a negro plan, but who knows?

[snowglobe]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Didn't know where to put this, death is more like non-health, but anyway.

Why in the hell do they not give the cause of death? The first question in one's mind when reading an obituary, and they leave it out.

I suspect fear of the public spotting outbreaks or trends.

Google search Dr. Joel Wallach. Do your own homework.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Squarehead Chris

I read a while back where many published obituaries were no longer stating the date, time, and place of the memorial services for the deceased.
It seems that criminals were looking up the addresses of the deceased and using the time of the services to go rob their houses, knowing that nobody would be home.
They would also rob the neighbors houses figuring that they were friends of the deceased and would also not be home.

Fucking ghouls.

Sounds a little too smart to be a negro plan, but who knows?

I've lived on a farm most of my life. Animals can be pretty smart when it comes to serving their primal instincts.

[Randal Goode]

It has more to do with privacy of the family, usually, when it comes to disease or overdose or suicide or such. Murders and accident victims may make the very same newspaper issue (or a day or so before) and thus the story will be told in that column.

People just figure it is not the public at large's business in many cases. I can understand this.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Randal Goode

It has more to do with privacy of the family, usually, when it comes to disease or overdose or suicide or such. Murders and accident victims may make the very same newspaper issue (or a day or so before) and thus the story will be told in that column.

People just figure it is not the public at large's business in many cases. I can understand this.

Yes, I suppose I can understand it too. As someone pointed out, you can often derive the cause of death from the obituary.

What got me on this was a desire to know how many people in my area die from cancer. I know two people in my small circle here that have it, and a hospital in a neighboring town just built a new cancer center, which seems odd for a relatively small town. I know there are better ways to obtain such statistics, but they are usually written with so much scientific jargon that I can't make much sense of them.