The art of the obit: Longtime journalist offers tips of the trade
04/10/24 at 03:00 AM
The art of the obit: Longtime journalist offers tips of the trade
Times Colonist, by Pedro Arrais; 4/5/24
Sandra Martin has written obituaries for everyone from Queen Elizabeth II to Margaret Thatcher, Betty Fox — mother of Marathon of Hope runner Terry Fox — Nelson Mandela, Farley Mowat and Jackie Burroughs. ... When she tells the story of an individual’s life and legacy, Martin says, she does it with the reader, not the family, foremost in mind. In that way, her work is different from a family’s death notice. ... “As a journalist, I write for the reader, not the family. That means that it has to be true. What I include has to have had an effect on the subject’s life."