Sunday's Obituaries

Sunday's Obituaries

It seems we all have them. Those little clippings from the newspaper where some family member was finally made known to the public. In the OBITUARY columns.

Sad, isn't it, that we seldom see what the person really did with their life while living. We are relegated to this all too brief form of mention. Most never listing more than the parents and survivors of his/her family. I personally would like to people lauded for their efforts in this life, while they were yet breathing! Let them know how much they really mean to their little corner of the world! I once read a newspaper from a small town that had a weekly column that did just that. They would pick some seemingly insignificant person, and tell their life story, while still living! I like that much better than the obituary column mentions!

However, these two obituary's are about a man who died five years before I was even born. A man who had his own story to tell. A man who outlived two of his three wives. Who saw some of his children die, and buried them in great sorrow. A man who knew both success and failure. A man who was loved and adored by his family.

My paternal Grandfather. John Monroe Bean.

Taken from the Bluefield Telegraph

April 12, 1954

The following is uncertain from where it came. Probably the Monroe Watchman, the local paper.