ANSWERS: 10
  • Probably because beyond satisfying morbid curiosity there is no reason to disclose it. Those closest to the deceased know how they died and others don't need to know.
  • Because by the time they mention all that, there's no more room, a news paper only gives you so much space, so they can fit everything on one page, At least that's what i think.
  • I have seen mention of 'old age related illness' mentioned in some obituaries. But mostly the cause of death is almost never mentioned. When the purpose of posting an obituary in a newspaper is to inform all concerned that a person has died, it is only logical that the cause of death too must be mentioned. But its never done. Probably it must be a closely guarded secret shared only among closest friends and relatives.
  • The cause of death is sometime put in to the obituaries. I think it's a personnel preference if the deceased wants it to be public knowledge. The main purpose of an obituary is to let it be known that the person has passed.
  • They would mention it if it were an interesting fact about that person. If they died fighting a mugger for example, or a climber who died trying a particularly difficult climb. An obituary is about the interesting stuff in someone's life, what they should be remembered for. If they died an ordinary and unremarkable death, why waste words mentioning it that could be spent on the interesting stuff they did. Would you rather they mentioned one more great match the sportsman participated in, or that he died of natural causes at a ripe old age? Which would he want to be remembered for?
  • They omit the cause of death out of respect for the family. The family might not want people to know that their loved one committed suicide or died of testicular cancer.
  • for the most part its tasteless. like asking a person how the sex was on a wedding night.
  • The surviving family, particularly the next-of-kin, determines what appears in the obituary,. If they want to share the cause of death (if they even know it at the time) they will do so. Otherwise, it doesn't appear.
  • I always wonder how they died too! In the paper a few weeks ago it was awful though some poor lil girl died at aged 3, made my blood run cold as that's the age of my youngest child. +4
  • Because of some few folks getting testy about it. I could die of choking on gummy bears. But my cause of death could be listed as: Death by Bears. See the problem?

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