The New Yorker's Afterword: 'It is the ending that makes the story'

We read birth announcements, wedding notices, and obituaries for the same reason: they each offer a tidy narrative. Best of all, they are stories buoyed by their elemental importance rather than the prominence of the characters. You do not have to argue the news value of an obituary—it is the ending that makes the story.

Dr. Peter Charles Ross, 98, remediated dental flaws

No obituary can fully convey the breadth and depth of his long life. It would take a full-length movie, starring someone like Gregory Peck or Sean Connery (dark, lean, ruggedly good looking, stern when needed, a winning smile when not). The trailer would show him show-jumping horses; flying airplanes; racing his 38-foot sloop, Tynaje, and winning; remediating dental flaws and damage as his day job; and in the evening, being the greatest dad ever, demanding but fair and caring.

Frances Frumin Weiner, 77; now, that's an obit!

She also leaves behind three quarts of expired sour cream, fourteen pairs of activity-specific sneakers, and the Sunday New York Times opened and folded to the crossword puzzle.

Thomas Lee Flanigan, 48, rode off ridden off into the glorious sunset

Well, that's it. I have completed my shift as the great American cliché.

Thomas Edwin Dupar, Sr., kept American Bar Association members busy

The American Bar Association regrets to announce the passing of Thomas Edwin Dupar Sr. on June 4, 2020. After four marriages that end in divorce and four bankruptcies, he kept many ABA members gainfully employed.

Eric Sauser, 43, now at every Red Sox spring game

Eric hated sad stories, beets, romantic comedies, a snow packed driveway and turning off the garage light. That's it. Eric was content with most everything else.

Opinion: Without eulogies, obituaries became 'less of a list and more of a narrative’

COVID brought poignancy to the pages in other ways. I didn’t recognize it at first. The added pages were not just because more people were dying. Many obituaries were considerably longer than usual.