I know you cannot possibly hire an obit writer, but I beg of you to prohibit people from writing their own. If it is great, it is bragging; if it is modest, it is too much so. Obit in question: My dear friend, Patty Duggan. She wrote her own, and neglected to note:
- The first thing she did each morning was put on makeup, so whoever she met would see her at her best.
- Every single morning for decades — snow or sun — she walked in the watershed, as even the bears she met nodded back at her.
- Her creativity soared with several dozen “fidget blankets” that she made and gave away.
- Her crochet needles could have kept a yarn factory busy for year with the hundreds of blankets, caps and winter wear that she crocheted and gave away.
- Her wall art is an unsung treasure.
- She dearly loved OSF, seeing every single show over more than 15 years, and was so proud to point out the costumes that she had volunteered to help sew.
- The sumptuous cookies that she donated to all, even to the unhoused on the doorstep of Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, wore out three ovens.
Her smile brought more happiness than even she could have imagined.
And there are more people who miss her than she could have guessed.
MaryAnn Shank
Ashland
