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Unseen, unheard but always
near,
Still loved, still missed, still
very dear.
Remembrance is a golden
chain,
Death tries to break, all in
vain;
To have, to love, and then
part,
Is the greatest sorrow of
one's heart.
.lltst a thought ofsweet remembrance,
j Itst a memory fond and
true,
.lllst a token ofaffection,
And a heartache stillfor
YOIl.
Remembering you is easy,
We do it every day.
Missing yOIl is a heartache,
that never goes away.
Ever remembered and
always missed by wife
Charlotte and family.l
298
our pathf,
Wherever we go.
We never lose the ones we
love,
For even though they're
gone,
Within the hearts ofthose
who care.
Their memory lingers olle..
GRANDFATHER:
To us you were someolle
special,
You were loving, kind and
trlle,
You will never be forgotten,
Poppy,
For we thought the world of
you.
Ever remembered and
sadly missed by son
Wayne and grandchildren
Natasha and Jeffery.
Ringlet's analysis of the superlative and emotional discourse of these expressions uncovers
that what "In Memoriams" actually "commemorate" is the moral needs of the bereaved.
Underlying the public declaration "I don't forget him" and "don't forget him," the
message would also be "please don't forget me."z
This overview of some salient synchronic aspects of death in Newfoundland yields
probably the clearest insights into the resilience of the old values of "traditional" death up
and against the forces of de-ritualization, de-socialisation and denial of death in modern
life. While acknowledging the inevitable changes brought about in the wake of
modernization on the continental model, undertakers locally have appropriately "sensed"
their market and eased the transition from the private to the commercial context. Thus
helped by their concern with preserving "local tradition," Newfoundlanders still know to
ritually transform death into "good death:" a death regenerating social and family life.
1"Classificd," The Evening Telegram 25 Fcb. 1989: 37.
2Ringlcl 278.