EDITORIAL: Why We Made Obituaries Free for Rhode Islanders

EDITORIAL: Why We Made Obituaries Free for Rhode Islanders

“It's counterintuitive, perhaps, but obituaries have next to nothing do with death and absolutely everything to do with life," said The New York Times' prolific obituary writer, Margalit Fox.

For us at GoLocal, publishing obits is an opportunity to help families to tell their loved ones' amazing stories — stories of service in World War II or the Korean War, or simply a life well-lived.

This week, we had the honor of publishing the obituary of the amazing story of one of Rhode Island's greatest athletes. 

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Clara A. Lamore Walker was an Olympian -- she was elected to the Swimming Hall of Fame. She was also a former nun, a world traveler, and one of the first women to graduate from Providence College -- her remarkable life had so many inspiring twists and turns. 

GoLocal — the only statewide, locally owned news organization — is committed to letting families tell stories, long or short.

And then there was the inspiring life of James Doherty. His obit read in part:

Mr. Doherty proudly served in the United States Navy during WWII. He served aboard the Destroyer escort Pillsbury, a member of the convoy that successfully captured the German U-Boat U 505 of the coast of Western Africa on June 4, 1944. Depth Charges had damaged the outer hull of the submarine and her captain, believing that his boat was doomed, surfaced and ordered the crew to abandon ship, which they did while the engines were running. Pillsbury lowered a boarding party and set about collecting two Enigma coding machines, codebooks, charts, and papers, tearing out delayed-action demolition charges, closing valves, and plugging leaks.

The U-boat's captain, five officers, and fifty-three of her crew were rescued, taken prisoner, then held incommunicado to keep the boat's capture a secret. U-505 was towed 2,500 miles to Bermuda and revealed some of the German Navy's most guarded secrets. The U-505 is now permanently displayed at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

He died at 94.

These men and women lived amazing lives — lives to celebrate. They are just two Rhode Islanders.

Others were moms and dads, sons and daughters, workers and musicians. They were all Rhode Islanders. They loved and lived and made our state better.

There were friends — like Renee Bailey — a beloved teacher at Providence’s Central High School. Her obituary reads, "Renee's students were her life. She was committed to each and every one of them from High School through college and in many cases throughout their adult lives." She was just 57.

Some have died of COVID, years or decades too early.

There have been cancer victims and some who seemed to have just died of old age.

We publish them for free. We are honored to tell these stories.