| If
you've been reading my thoughts on how to handle the end of life, you
probably gathered that I don't
believe we need to stick with too many rules. Here is an obituary that
broke the rules. It certainly
was personal to those who knew Jim Schinneller and made others like myself
wish they had known him.

Here is an article
from AP that explains:

The sample below is a bit more creative than most and is interesting to
read as well as giving a feel for Clarence McCandless's life.
Obituary
North: Third-generation family farmer always busy on 400-acre spread
Sunday, November 14, 2004
By Alisha Hipwell
Clarence B. McCandless hated
to repair machinery, but he loved just about everything else about farming
-- especially riding the tractor.
"I don't think he would
ever have been satisfied if he'd had to give it up altogether, he'd been
farming so long," said his wife, Donna McCandless.
In Butler County, where residential
and commercial development is quickly replacing the family farm, Mr. McCandless'
farm in Center remains a link to the area's agricultural heritage.
Mr. McCandless, the third generation
of his family to farm the same land and a member of the Butler County
Farm Bureau, died Nov. 5 of complications from heart disease and diabetes
at the farm. He was 73.
Mr. McCandless was born in
1931 on the farm his grandfather started.
His father, Blair McCandless,
was disabled by arthritis, so Mr. McCandless learned to farm from his
uncle, the late Stanley McCandless, who lived with the family. He first
got on a tractor at age 7 and juggled his farm chores with his schooling.
Named the McCandless Potato
Farm, the 400-acre spread, situated half in Center and half in Franklin,
supplied potatoes to potato chip companies such as Troyer Farms and Frito-Lay.
The family left that business
about a decade ago when the market for potatoes fell, but Mr. McCandless
continued to raise beef cattle, hay, corn and oats.
"There was always something
to do. There was no retirement even in the winter time," his wife
said.
When Mr. McCandless did take
a break from the rigors of the farm, he enjoyed attending NASCAR races
with his wife.
In 1996, the family's farm
was named a Century Farm by Butler County and the Pennsylvania Department
of Agriculture, a recognition given to farms owned and operated by the
same family for more than 100 consecutive years.
Donna McCandless said their
son, Lee McCandless, of Center, plans to take over, ensuring that a fourth
generation of the family will work the land.
In addition to his wife and
son, Mr. McCandless is survived by three other sons, David McCandless,
of the Hilliards section of Washington, Butler County, Ronny McCandless,
of Fawn Grove, York County, and Robert McCandless, of Franklin, Butler
County; a daughter, Darla Marks, also of Franklin; a brother, Darrell
McCandless, also of Franklin; a sister, Helen Blanche Tribby, of Mesa,
Ariz.; and 14 grandchildren.
A funeral was held
Wednesday in Edward L. Raisley Funeral Home in Prospect. Interment was
in Unionville Cemetery.
To learn more about
how to write an obituary click here.
Have you found these
ideas helpful? Check out this book with everything you need to create
a personalized memorial service. It is only $9.95 and will ship the same
day it is ordered for quick delivery.
© Mary Hickey All Rights Reserved
You can find poems,
sayings and lyrics here.
For samples of eulogies
click here.
If you're looking
for interesting memorial products to personalize a life celebration click
here.
We welcome
your ideas and suggestions, please email them to us at info@nextgenmemorials.com.
|