I seem to be writing a lot about death and dying lately (see Confessions of a … Funeral Director?) for no real reason I can determine, except for the fact that I’ll be turning 30 next year and maybe the whole “you’re not so young anymore” thing is starting to get to me.

All that aside – I have to share about a self-penned obituary from a Delaware man. The man’s grandson published the obituary online after his grandfather passed away last week and it’s getting some buzz around the Internet for the humor and matter-of-factness of life and death. I assume, for its length, that it did not go into the newspapers as a paid obituary, as I believe that would cost a small fortune.

The whole thing is witty and interesting, but my favorite part is the end, where George Bruhl, Jr. asks everyone to remember him in their own way, maybe by raising a glass of their favorite drink in his memory. And, in lieu of flowers, Mr. Bruhl requested everyone perform a random act of kindness in his name.

The Daily Mail has a little story about Mr. Bruhl and links to the full obituary, in case you’d like to read it, which I suggest. But, here are a few of my favorite parts:

“Walter George Bruhl Jr of Newark and Dewey Beach DE is a dead person, he is no more, he is bereft of life, he is deceased, he has wrung down the curtain and gone to join the choir invisible, he has expired and gone to meet his maker.”

“Walt was preceded in death by his tonsils and adenoids in 1935; a spinal disc in 1974; a large piece of his thyroid gland in 1988; and his prostate on March 27, 2000.”

And of course, a hint to his wishes about what happens to his body:

“There will be no viewing since his wife refuses to honor his request to have him standing in the corner of the room with a glass of Jack Daniels in his hand so he would appear natural to visitors.”

Cremation will take place at the family’s convenience, and his ashes will be kept in an urn until they get tired of having it around. What’s a Grecian Urn? Oh, about 200 drachmas a week.

If ever there is a cool way to say adieu to the mortal world, it’s something like this.