John E. Holden (Jack) |
Larry W. Woods
Ordinary Guy
Larry W. Woods died on September 9, 2044 at the age of 100, surrounded by his wife and friend of 77 years, Carol and his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren at his home in Lancaster, PA. He died shortly after watching the “Today” show and seeing his photo on a jar of Smuckers Jam. This was the one item on his “Bucket List” he feared he would never achieve. He had a grin on his face as he fell asleep for the last time.
Could Mr. Holden have read my blog and thought he would do the same for himself? I thoroughly enjoyed reading his obit and when I saw the article on the front of the paper today I got to relive it again. Seems that his obituary became an international sensation after being shared on social media and going viral within hours of publication. The newspaper website has drawn over 115,000 hits and a reprint of the obit appeared in newspapers across the country as well as in London and ran on the Canadian broadcasting Corporation's website under the line, "This guy wrote his own obituary, and it's fantastic." In today's front page story it tells the story of Jack as seen through the eyes of those who knew him throughout his life as well as those he worked with at Armstrong and Hubley Toys. Almost 70 inches of copy appeared in today's paper with his photo. It appears that Jack is as famous in death as he was in life. A few more items from his obit, and in his own words, that you may find interesting were: ...... (1) For many years prior to his demise, he wrote a tongue in cheek publication at Willow Valley called "The Wrinkle Valley News" where he had close to a thousand readers whom he referred to as "The Inmates of Wrinkle Valley." (2) He was a longstanding member of the Lancaster Country Club, the Hamilton Club and the International Mickey Mouse Club from which he was immediately banned after providing housing for a number of stray cats. (3) Jack was widowed ten years ago after sixty-one years of marriage to Elaine Ewing Holden. He has had a number of other wives recently, none of which were his. (4) Three daughters, Holly, Wendy and Anne Holden and a son, John E. Holden, Jr. have managed to survive despite being related to their father. (5) and finally - His last words were "I'm really going to miss myself." .... I guess I'm going to have to tweak my obit a little to outdo this one. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
This photo of Jack was on of the two that accompanied his obituary in the Lancaster Newspaper |
No comments:
Post a Comment