Can't We Get It Right?

Both the viewing and the funeral are on Saturday.

There’s a point in all this that’s bothersome to me. OK, truthfully, there’s many points in all this that’s bothersome to me, but only one that has nothing to do with last wishes, family issues, or my previously made weekend plans.

And that’s time of death. They have his death date listed as yesterday. He most assuredly did not die on April 2. Granted, he died in the final hour of April 1, but, since he was not on Eastern Time, he technically died April 1. Apparently, they go by when the official from Hospice arrived on the scene. This must be part of procedure for an at-home death.

I’m not sure why this is bothering me so much. It probably just gives me something to focus my attention on while avoiding the obvious. But still, shouldn’t your death date be accurate if someone actually knows when you died?

I know there are cases where no one knows for sure and all a coroner can do is guess. I sat through years of inquests and there were at least one or two of those annually, including murder cases where someone was found days or even weeks later. Those bothered me, too.

I guess it’s no different really than births in the old days. I seem to recall there was some dispute about which side of midnight my grandmother – who was born at home in 1910 – arrived on. She used the “official” record, Feb.8, though I think her mother always contended that the actual date was Feb. 7.

I guess it must be both the reporter (I was one for several years) and the genealogist in me. I like to be as accurate as I can, in part, because telling that story is really the only thing I can do for my ancestors. And I feel like I owe it to them to get it right.

Apparently, more "official" channels don't agree.