There’s nothing like a funeral to remind you of your own morality. Especially when you’re 73 and the person’s whose funeral you’re attending is younger.
So today, as I sat in the pew at Temple Israel listening to Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman talking about a man I’d ironically never met (though I knew his wife), that’s where my mind drifted. I certainly have fewer, though hopefully many years left than what I’ve lived.
As I listened to Rabbi Zimmerman’s flowing words about the departed of his accomplishments, his eagerness for learning and living, the love of his family and work, I wished I had known him.
Like my sister, Sharon Henneman, who died 19 months ago, he died suddenly with no warning. Here one morning, gone that evening. Dang.
As I drove home, I thought about several unfinished documents on my computer:
- Legal Shield Questionnaire.
- MN Power of Attorney Worksheet.
- .Health Care Directive.
- Will Questions.
- My Obituary.
- List of Who Gets What When I Die.
I also thought about famous people who have died without a will, people with considerable wealth like Aretha Franklin, Prince, even President Abraham Lincoln and, of all people, Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger!
Well, I’m certainly not a person of considerable wealth, at least not in the monetary sense, but I do know from personal experience that when you die without a will, it can cause unnecessary and huge upsets for those left behind.
When I got home, I said to my husband, “We’ve been putting this off for far too long.” We got out our calendars and scheduled two “Will Sessions” this week to go over our paperwork and send in to our Legal Shield attorney.
If you haven’t already, I invite you to do the same.
