If at my death there is any doubt that I have truly gone into the Great Beyond, let them play the music of Scott Joplin. If there is no reaction, I have truly gone. If however I show a slight reaction, continue playing, and I will be with you a bit longer.
My Requiem
Let this be said at my
departure.
My life has been a happy one enriched by
wonderful parents, loyal brothers, and four children, all of whom have been a
source of pleasure and pride. Eight grandchildren have also added to the
pleasures of my life. Lastly, my wife Pat has made my life a most happy one.
Life has not short changed me nor passed me
by in any way, and I depart knowing that I have had more than my share of
life's blessings.
To be sure, I have had my share of
disappointments and failures, but they have only served to provide challenges
that have helped to develop my character. Success in some small measure I have
had and has made my stay here rewarding.
Let no tears be shed at this moment and no
one be inconvenienced by any ceremony or ritual of any kind. I came into this world
unannounced and it would be nice to leave it in the same manner. "The
world belongs to the living generation, for the dead are dead." The world
is now yours.
There is an after life only in the sense
that the good a man does lives after him and is remembered. In this regard I
hope I have left the world a better place for my having been here.
Charles E. Jacobson Jr.
I heard the following at a friend's service and liked it, and wish to add it also to my final words:
I'd
like the memory of me
To be a happy one.
I'd like to leave an afterglow
Of smiles when day is done.
I'd like to leave an echo
Whispering softly down the ways
Of happy times and laughing times
And bright and sunny days.
I'd like the tears of those who grieve
To dry before the sun
Of happy memories that I leave
Behind when day is done.
Do not stand by my grave and cry,
I am not there, I did not die.
or