Life stories interrupted: an exploration of United States obituaries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe COVID-19 global pandemic drastically changed the lives of so many, including creating a sense of mass bereavement in the United States because of the million plus lives lost. As obituaries provide public documentation of personal legacies as well as serve to create a generational memory, this study sought to determine how obituaries, published in the United States during a public health crisis with excess deaths, discuss living and dying. We analysed 82 obituaries published in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic to determine their functions during this time. These U.S. obituaries documented how the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the life stories of so many. Several key themes emerged in the obituaries – cause of death, COVID-19 changing lives, resilience/positivity, political statements, and thanking healthcare workers. These COVID-19 obituaries shared many of the known functions of obituaries, but they also served as public service death announcements.KEYWORDS: COVID-19deathobituariespublic service death announcementbereavement Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. Excess deaths include not only confirmed COVID-19 deaths, but also COVID-19 deaths that were not correctly diagnosed and reported as well as deaths from other causes attributable to overall pandemic conditions (Giattino et al., Citation2022).Additional informationNotes on contributorsAnna F. CarmonAnna F. Carmon is an associate professor of Communication Studies in the Division of Liberal Arts at Indiana University-Columbus. She received her Ph.D. from North Dakota State University. Her research interests include death communication, obituaries as rhetorical messages, and family communication.Matthew C. RothrockMatthew C. Rothrock is An Educational Resources Leader for the Office of Student Affairs at Indiana University-Columbus. He received his M.A. in Applied Communication from Indiana University-Indianapolis. His research interests include obituaries as rhetorical messages, and science communication, in particular the communication of risk in weather contexts, and communication as it relates to the United States weather enterprise.