For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.
The above quote is from a famous speech by the late US President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963). This speech was a commencement address entitled A Strategy of Peace delivered at the American University in Washington, D.C. on June 10th, 1963. The final, somewhat depressing, five words, ‘And we are all mortal’ have inspired this Editorial.
1. Introduction
In recent years, several distinguished palynologists have passed away. Sadly, only a minority of these have had obituaries published in the AASP – TPS Newsletter, Palynology, Palynos, or elsewhere. We would like to enthusiastically encourage the colleagues, friends, mentees, and students of these late palynologists to write and submit obituaries in a timely manner. Great palynological lives should be celebrated and recorded for the archives of history. Please try to provide an obituary as soon as you can, even vivid memories fade. When a well-loved palynologist passes, obviously go through the mourning process, then please write the obituary. Typically, the deceased’s immediate colleagues circulate the sad news by email. However, a formal published obituary helps spread the word among the wider community of palynologists and is preserved for posterity. This short piece is aimed at encouraging obituaries and advising potential obituarists.
2. What is an obituary and why they are important
The definition of an obituary is a notice of a person’s death, with a biographical account which documents that individual’s life and achievements. By contrast a death notice, used largely by newspapers, simply provides key facts about the person such as name, age, date of birth, and date of death.
Most significantly, obituaries document the life, body of work, and impact of an individual for the historical record. The sphere the individual palynologist worked in, for example, academia, government, industry, or as a freelance, and where they lived and worked, does not matter. For example, a palynologist working in industry may have not had the opportunity to publish their data and interpretations, but they will have contributed massively to the economy of their colleagues, company, and country (see: https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/About/History/Obituaries-2001-onwards/Obituaries-2016/William-Braham-1957-2016). The working lives of industrial palynologists can help tell the story of the discovery and development of major hydrocarbon provinces such as the Gulf of Mexico, the North Slope of Alaska, and the North Sea, or the introduction of innovative techniques such as biosteering and palynofacies analysis (e.g. Parry et al. Citation1981, Batten Citation1982, Jones et al. Citation2005).
Accounts of late individuals allow the assessment of them personally, but also their colleagues, employers, mentors, and university alma mater. The point above about the relevance of the countries where the palynologist lived and worked is very pertinent because the culture and customs in universities, government, and industry in countries which many readers are not familiar with are often truly fascinating.
Obituaries are also extremely important for the family of the individual. A sympathetic and well-written obituary will, for example, help the family further understand palynology, and why their loved-one had an important place in it. An eloquent account of how their loved-one was cherished by their peers will surely help the immediate family to come to terms with their loss and achieve closure. Furthermore, an obituary will help future generations of the family to appreciate and understand their distinguished ancestor.
The obituaries of celebrities and public figures are traditionally published in local or national newspapers. Those for scientists are generally issued in journals. However, they do not have to be published in print media; online obituary notices are becoming increasingly popular.
3. How to be a good obituarist
3.1. Overview
Writing an obituary is, clearly, a very sad thing indeed to have to do. That said, it is always a fascinating task because there are always interesting aspects of someone’s life that the obituarist will not be aware of. In this regard, always try to work with the immediate family of the deceased for relevant background information such as, for example, any charity/community work, hobbies, military service etc. Remember that every life is unique, and this dimension should be suitably reflected in an obituary.
If the person in question was a very close friend of the obituarist, which is very often the case, the crafting of an obituary can be cathartic in that it may help in coming to terms with the loss. One can choose to fully concentrate on the late person’s professional activities and include only the most rudimentary details of their early days and personal life. By contrast, one can include copious detail about the person’s non-palynological life. An example of the latter approach is Riding and Lucas-Clark (Citation2016), where these authors discussed the school career, military service, and previous life as a trilobite expert of the celebrated dinoflagellate expert Bill Evitt. Journal editors are highly unlikely to intervene profoundly on the balance between personal and professional aspects. However, remember your audience and concentrate on the palynological angle.
The general advice is to try to write a rounded story about the individual by telling their story from early years, through schooldays and university to their eventual career. Include specific anecdotes and highlights, both within and outside of their professional life, to make your account interesting and lively. Details on non-professional topics should be included at some level and can make the obituary come to life for many readers. Try to convey ‘the spark of the Divine’ and uniqueness in the individual rather than merely providing a clichéd and restructured curriculum vitae. Consider how things would be different if the subject of the obituary had never lived (Lock Citation1995). Long lists of appointments, awards, committee roles and the like are far better placed in tables or Supplementary Data than in the running text. Lists in free text format can be extremely tedious. Lock (Citation1995) and Taylor (Citation2021) are two articles which also offer advice to potential obituarists.
3.2. Recommendations for obituarists
There are no hard and fast rules, or a rigid format, for an obituary. Aspects such as length, scope, and style are entirely the choice of the obituarist. Obviously, one should include the basic information as appropriate ().
Table 1. A checklist of 11 items of basic information to include in an obituary as appropriate, adapted from Lock (Citation1995).
This essential information should be double-checked with the immediate family, who should also be given the chance to proofread the manuscript of the obituary prior to submission. There is no need to include the cause of death, especially if you are unsure about doing so. If you choose to include this information, ensure that you get the permission of the family. Likewise, obtain the approval of the family if you wish to make public details of the funeral and/or memorial service.
Bear in mind that some journals may operate strict word/space limits for obituaries, so you may need to be very concise. You may be invited to write an obituary for a journal which restricts obituaries to one or two pages (e.g. Riding and Worley 2020a). However, you can still prepare a more expanded version for another journal which is more receptive to longer memorial articles (e.g. Riding and Worley 2020b). Please note that Palynology does not enforce a word limit for obituaries.
Try to be objective and respectful throughout. Be euphemistic where appropriate, but do not be tempted to gild the lily, i.e. fall into the trap of embellishing details of the life of the subject. Most obituarists keenly admire the person being written about; this is entirely understandable but make strenuous efforts to avoid hagiography (hero-worship). An over-hagiographic account, in which the subject is represented as being perfect or saint-like, can come across as somewhat lacking in credibility. Taylor (Citation2021) amusingly recalled an obituary of the famous English polymath and scientist William Whewell (1794–1866). The obituarist excused and sketched over Whewell’s well-known cavalier disregard for his pastoral responsibilities towards his students. Obituarists should be frank, yet diplomatic, about the subject’s perceived character flaws, failings, and foibles. Remember to tell the truth about a rounded person; there is balance to be struck between light and shade.
The phrase ‘context is everything’ is highly relevant here in terms of the immediate family. The obituarist should, if space permits, mention parents and other immediate family members who predeceased the subject of the obituary and include close relatives who have survived the deceased. A short memorial such as a funeral poem can be included should copyright issues allow this; the publishers will advise. Items like this may well be better placed in Supplemental Data.
In the text, try to avoid clichés, platitudes and stock phrases such as ‘he/she did not suffer fools gladly’ (Lock Citation1995). It is normal to include a photograph of the deceased person if the format of the publication accepts them. Ensure that the image chosen is a high-resolution file and is one which the subject would have been happy with. A publication list if appropriate should be included. If this is relatively short, it can be an Appendix. Otherwise consider placing this, together with other listings of the subject’s achievements, in the Supplemental Data.
4. Concluding remarks
I have frequently stated that Palynology is a journal produced by palynologists for palynologists. While I have been editor, I have never declined an obituary for publication and would encourage everyone in our community to write an obituary if a palynologist who you knew well passes. Reach out to close colleagues of the subject, and others who knew the deceased well to avoid the possibility of several obituaries being written simultaneously. Do not assume that you are the most appropriate person to do the obituary. The greater the number of authors, the greater the corporate memory available on the late palynologist (e.g. Riding et al. Citation2016). Obituaries are generally given a light touch appraisal by the editorial team and are not normally sent out for peer review by us. I assure you that the editorial team of Palynology will be pleased to assist, advise, and help.
Remember that the best obituaries represent individuals as they really were, and as they would have wished to be remembered. Also bear in mind that when the descendants of the recently deceased palynologists of today eventually succumb to the inevitable, the stories of their heroes and mentors will be lost to the historical record forever if obituaries were not written.
British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK
[email protected]
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to Vera Korasidis, Encarni Montoya, and Matthew Pound for commenting on an initial draft of this article.
References
- Batten DJ. 1982. Palynofacies, palaeoenvironments and petroleum. Journal of Micropalaeontology. 1(1):107–114.
- Jones RW, Lowe S, Milner P, Heavey P, Payne S, Ewen D. 2005. Chapter 15. The role and value of “biosteering” in hydrocarbon reservoir exploitation. In: Koutsoukos EAM (editor). Applied Stratigraphy. Topics in Geobiology. 23:p. 339–355. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
- Lock S. 1995. How to do it: write an obituary for the BMJ. BMJ (Clinical Research ed.). 311(7006):680–681.
- Parry CC, Whitley PKJ, Simpson RDH. 1981. Chapter 18. Integration of palynological and sedimentological methods in facies analysis of the Brent Formation. In: Illing LV, Hobson GD (editors). Petroleum Geology of the Continental Shelf of North-West Europe. Institute of Petroleum, London, p. 205–215.
- Riding JB, Chaloner WG, Farley MB, Rich FJ, Strother PK. 2016. A biography and obituary of Alfred Traverse (1925–2015). Palynology. 40(2):iii–xi.
- Riding JB, Lucas-Clark J. 2016. The life and scientific work of William R. Evitt (1923–2009). Palynology. 40(sup1):2–131.
- Riding JB, Worley NE. 2022a. Trevor David Ford (1925–2017). Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society. 63(1):61–62.
- Riding JB, Worley NE. 2022b. The life and scientific work of Trevor D. Ford (1925–2017). Mercian Geologist. 20(1):27–36.
- Taylor DJ. 2021. Larger than life: how to go about writing an obituary. TLS – Times Literary Supplement. 6168:12–13.