How to Write an Obituary
Manuel "Manu" Gómez Diez, PhD, lived a life full of adventure, traveling, and pursuit of his passions. From a very young age, Manuel and his sister, Lucía, had the opportunity to travel abroad for one month out of the year, giving them the chance to explore and experience many different communities and cultures, as well as practice their English. On his travels, Manuel fell in love with animals (especially horses) and this kickstarted his desire to pursue a career in Large Animal Internal Medicine. After graduating with a PhD, Manuel traveled and worked at different equine hospitals in both France and the United Kingdom until he was accepted into a residency program at the University of Guelph in Canada (a school that would later support him and his family through the difficulty of his cancer diagnosis). It was during his first year in the program that Manuel received his first cancer diagnosis and had to return home briefly. After recovering from his first surgery, Manuel returned to Canada and worked tirelessly to get through the program. When his health declined in his second year after the cancer returned, he flew back to be with his family who lovingly guided and supported him throughout his final months.
When Manuel passed, his advisor suggested that the family set up a memorial website. Manuel had many friends and colleagues in the program who wanted to share their condolences and connect with the family. The family chose Ever Loved because of the available features (such as the ability to post photos, videos, memories, and an obituary), the layout, and the fact that all memories would be in one place, instead of scattered around social media platforms. His sister, Lucía, was able to easily share the website with friends, family members and Manuel’s many colleagues abroad.
The family quickly began receiving condolences, tributes, and memories from all of Manuel’s contacts, friends, and colleagues from across the world. Many people whose lives were touched by Manuel (friends, family, colleagues from his time abroad) were able to post their favorite photos of times they shared together.
Lucía tasked her parents with finding photos from when Manuel was younger to help map out a timeline of his life on the website. They also used the Updates section as a way to keep Manuel’s community informed on livestreamed funeral events and to thank them for their support. Additionally, even though obituaries are not common in Spain, Lucía translated a full obituary (written by her father) for Manuel that went into his life in detail, giving all those who visited the memorial site the opportunity to learn more about Manuel’s life, passions, and hobbies. Lucía said Ever Loved was “incredibly healing” to her and her family after losing Manuel. The living memorial they set up for Manuel was a place for them to gain insight into who Manuel was to everyone he met, even friends his family wasn’t aware existed.
On the year anniversary of Manuel’s passing, many of his friends and family returned to his memorial site to express their continued memories of him. Each time his many friends get together and take a photo, they share it on Manuel’s website letting everyone know that he’s still in their hearts and minds. Additionally, Manuel’s father uses the memorial website to share a poem he writes for his son each month. Manuel’s memory is able to live on through the lives of all those that he knew and loved.
Create a memorial website
