Years ago I recall having been introduced to the benefit of a well written obituary. What follows is an example:

Meed was born in New York, New York, in 1944 to Alan “Tamey” Wetterau and (Ethel) Cary Moncure.   At age 5 they moved to upstate New York, where life centered on the vibrant artists’ community of 1950s Woodstock. There, Meed was surrounded by teachers and mentors of all kinds, so that although “home life” was a moving target, Meed became an accomplished painter and sculptor and a NY Board of Regents Scholar by the age of 18.

After short sojourns in Gainesville, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia, where Meed got involved with the Civil Rights movement, they returned to Rochester, New York, and then attended SUNY Buffalo. There, Meed studied English and Indonesian, before completing a Master’s degree in Honolulu in 1973. After more travels, including a short time living in Jakarta, Meed took a position teaching English to Hmong refugees, and moved to co-op housing in West Philadelphia. Soon, a young engineering student named Bob Barnett applied to join the household. The co-op didn’t go for him, but Meed did! They married in 1981, and moved to Southern New Jersey, where Bob took up a career with the FAA that would span 35 years. Their child Cobalt was born there in 1982.

The years in South Jersey brought many new connections: Quakerism, the arts communities of Ocean City and Millville, coffeehouse nights, John Bate’s Masterworks choir, and a folk singing collective that met monthly for nearly 40 years. However, Meed always hoped to return to a more northerly climate, and in 2016, their sights were set still farther north: to Canada! Meed and Bob made their home in the Ottawa Valley in 2018, and took their pledge to the Queen in 2022. They began leading a multi-generational Hootenanny in Almonte. When COVID prevented this, they started a weekly online Singalong that continued for 295 sessions. Meed had formed immediate and fast friendships here in Almonte, and only wished to have longer to enjoy them.

Reading that obituary (C.R. Gamble Funeral Home & Chapel Inc.) made me marvel at the dizzying ambition and vigour of the deceased. Evidently there are so many opportunities available to achieve a full and well-rounded life.