Obituary Weblog Celebrates 1,000 Brushes With Death

Although death is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, a Seattle writer has granted immortality to 1,000 people.

SEATTLE, WA (PRWEB) June 5, 2004 -- Death is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but obituarist Jade Walker has granted immortality to 1,000 people.

Last June, Ms. Walker launched The Blog of Death (http://www.blogofdeath.com), a constantly updated Website featuring 100 to 500-word obituaries. Since its debut, the blog has built up a devoted audience of readers (50,000 people visited in May), and received positive press in USA Today, The Miami Herald and The York Daily Record. On June 5, the site will publish its 1,000th obit.

"Whenever I hear about a person's death, I ask myself, 'Did they live with passion? Did they accomplish great things? Did they contribute something unique to the world?' If I can answer 'yes' to some of these questions, I write the obit," Ms. Walker said.

The Blog of Death features obits of the famous and infamous, but it also covers ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives. Folks like Alberta Martin, the last known widow of a Civil War veteran; David Reimer, the unwitting subject of a controversial gender experiment; and Santa Claus, a northern Illinois man who legally changed his name after decades of playing St. Nick.

Plus, each obituary offers family, friends and strangers the opportunity to leave tributes to the recently deceased. Adan Sanchez, a 19-year-old Mexican singer who died in March, has received more than 700 tributes from fans.

"People may die," Ms. Walker said, "but on the Web, their legacy lives on."