William G. Wood, 93; email his daughter for details

"If you want to know more about my WW II father, email me @ bwtomasino@gmail.com because he would have rolled over in his grave over the exorbitant price of this obituary." I have emailed her and will post his obit here, for free, if she send it to me. What do you think of the price newspapers charge to print obits?

From The Atlantic, an interesting look at social media and the end of life

Death has long been taboo in an American culture that values youth, but an open conversation online can increase our enjoyment of life and understanding of its eventual end.

Beverley J. Scovish, born of Joseph and Mary on Dec. 24

She wasn't afraid to speak her mind no matter where she was or who she was talking to, even if it was in the middle of Wal-Mart, which by the way was one of her favorite places to go. She was an avid reader, enjoyed the outdoors, bird watching, solving crossword puzzles, watching comedy shows on television and liked the color blue.

Evelyn O. DeVita, 95, a woman on the move

She saw Frank Sinatra at the Paramount, heard Marlon Brando yell "Stella" on Broadway, chatted with Keith Richards on the beach in St Martin and died in her own bed in her own house. (H/T to Peter Elikann)

Jane Catherine Lotter, 60, got to write her own obit

I was given the gift of life, and now I have to give it back. This is hard. But I was a lucky woman, who led a lucky existence, and for this I am grateful. I first got sick in January 2010. When the cancer recurred last year and was terminal, I decided to be joyful about having had a full life, rather than sad about having to die. Amazingly, this outlook worked for me. (Well, you know, most of the time.) Meditation and the study of Buddhist philosophy also helped me accept what I could not change. At any rate, I am at peace. And on that upbeat note, I take my mortal leave of this rollicking, revolving world-this sun, that moon, that walk around Green Lake, that stroll through the Pike Place Market, the memory of a child's hand in mine.

NPR's Scott Simon tweets his mother's death

"Watching someone die brings us powerfully in touch with how brief—yet intense—each life here is. The tweets, which felt almost aphoristic (a mere hundred and forty characters each), underscored one of the strangest things about being with someone at the end of her life: the surreality of time, the way that time bends and distorts, becomes material. Suddenly, we are aware that the sunny summer days won’t go on forever. Our time is limited. It’s the most obvious thing in the world, and yet the most elusive." There was a lot of coverage of this new, unusual method of announcing a death, or a pending one. I know I would love to have done the same when my mother died but it took us by surprise and we only had three hours to round everyone up. And maybe some would have found it distasteful. What do you think about Scott Simon's tweets?