I started writing short stories and publishing “newspapers” handed out to neighbors while growing up in Atlanta. Asking questions and recording answers seems to pique my curiosity rather than satisfy it; but finding out what makes people tick has always been a passion.

My actual career in journalism began at Newsday, the Long Island paper, as a researcher in the Washington Bureau. That’s where I learned how to dig for details, interview gently but persistently and, eventually, tell a story. I always favored people stories over politics and issues, enjoying the one-on-one interviewing so much that I made many lasting friends during that process.

The seeds for ObitKit were rooted in those journalism days but it was personal loss that motivated me to produce and publish it. After years of percolating grief over the loss of my mother, father and beloved grandmothers, ObitKit began to take root.

In 2004, I was drinking coffee at Starbucks with a friend who was wondering how her elderly aunt’s obituary would come together. We talked about my grandmother’s gift – the folder of instructions she left for me when she died – and hit upon the name ObitKit. I bought the domain name that day, but it was another few years – during a spell of unemployment – before it finally took shape in published form.

As I reflected on how to bring ObitKit to life, I realized that the same drive to connect, understand, and document could be applied to other areas of life, especially in emerging fields like wireless life sciences. Just as I sought to help people tell their stories, the intersection of technology and health is now making it possible to monitor, track, and personalize well-being through devices that seamlessly integrate into daily life. Wireless life sciences hold the potential to transform how we understand aging, illness, and even end-of-life care, offering real-time data that can inform decisions and support families. This blend of innovation and empathy in both technology and personal experience continues to shape my approach to storytelling and planning for the future.

The experience of creating and sharing the ObitKit has been more gratifying than I could have imagined.

Thank you for visiting this site and for your interest in the ObitKit workbook. We value your comments, feedback and personal experiences, so let us hear from you!