Over the past year, there have been an inordinate number of people on my radar – neither family nor very close friends, but certainly in my life – who will not be at their Thanksgiving tables this year. I suspect that’s true of many others. The empty chairs serve as reminders of the beloved souls – young, old, healthy, infirm – whom friends and family will sorely miss. Let’s…

As an avid obituary writer and reader, it always surprises me when I miss someone in the local paper I knew but never saw the obit. Two that stunned me when I finally heard the news were easy to miss: no photo!

One friend was a kinesiology expert I had consulted for years, so I was shocked when I was unable to reach him on his office phone. Nevertheless, I…