Year: 1972 Source: Life-Threatening Behavior, v.2, no.4, (Winter 1972), p.262-267 SIEC No: 19860355

A definition of an obituary – what it is and what it is not – is given. The criteria for a New York Times obituary are reported. From a sample of over 100 obituaries elicited from college students at Harvard in 1969 some typical examples and reactions are cited. In general, it is concluded that young people have difficulty objectifying themselves or seeing themselves as dead. “Only the young are immortal” is the main theme of this brief paper.