Sand Mountain Reporter

A Texas friend’s uncle died. I didn’t know the man whose life ended recently at age 92.

This man lived a good life. That is easily known by his obituary.

It read, in part, “A.C. loved his Houston Astros, Dallas Cowboys, Gunsmoke and Festus, ice cold milk and Bud Light, Manhattan Rummy, Cribbage, and in spite of his children’s protest, he continued to watch Lawrence Welk at the loudest setting of the television.

“He loved to cook everything from apple cake to brisket. He hand built his home on the island and helped build the dairy after the war. We should not forget the watermelon and cantaloupe fields and fireworks stands that many siblings contributed to, the block-long vegetable garden and his 30 years service as precinct 224 judge.”

A.C. didn’t just live a good life, he lived the good life, it seems to me.

It’s worthy to note this man I never met had his life summarized not by any list of accomplishments, but an accounting of those things – and people – he loved.

They wanted the rest of us to be sure to remember him that way.

What a lesson that is. How would I want to be remembered?

I hope my obituary will include a list of the things I loved.

Written in future past tense, it should say I loved my family with a passion, especially my Mary and the boys, Brad and Will.

The short summary of my life must include that my family knew my unconditional love for them and that nothing was more important to me.

It should say, “He loved his wife, and spending time doing nothing with her as long as it was together-time. And he especially loved their ‘middle-of-the-night’ laughter.

“Ben loved to make other people smile. Perhaps his greatest talent was he enjoyed being laughed at.

“He loved his cabin at Mentone. No one understood why he enjoyed doing yard work there and nowhere else.

“He loved to fly fish – it was the best thing to do when the fish weren’t biting and he loved golf when it was good. He loved great restaurants, fine food and great wine and was proud he lost over 1,000 pounds in his life.

“He loved the newspaper business – the good parts and the hard parts and he enjoyed being a part of trying to make things better.

“He always loved his inner circle of friends – Dolph, David, Vance and Jim. And he loved God and his Methodist church.”

My Texas friend and I had a soul-searching discussion recently. Now in our late 50s, we both admitted we don’t fear death, not at all. We’re not ready to stop living just yet.

I hope the rest of the living I have left will justify the obituary already written for me. And I hope those I love are already as assured of that fact as I am.

[Ben Shurett is publisher of The Sand Mountain Reporter. His e-mail address is ben.shurett(at)sandmountainreporter.com.]

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Serving Albertville and the Sand Mountain region

Publisher: Ben Shurett

1603 Progress Drive
Albertville, Alabama 35950

Tel: 256-840-3000 | Email

A Southern Newspapers publication.