PASS

Pass is, sadly, another memorable word.

Word reached me today of the passing of two people.  Neither of them knew each other.  Although I knew both of them, I knew neither of them terribly well.  And yet each of them, and their families, are sitting in my thoughts today.

The first was a classmate from college.  I found out about it by reading a post from his wife on Facebook, stating he was no longer in pain, followed by a huge outpouring of thoughts from other classmates, some of whom knew him better than I.

The second was the mother of a friend of mine from high school.  Again, I found out by reading a post on Facebook.  And, again, there was an outpouring of thoughts from my classmates, many of whom knew her better than I.

I post a lot of death notices here.  For the famous and those known to only a few.  These notices serve as small markers of a person's presence in our lives, and help to illustrate how they have shaped us.  And although I would be hard-pressed to remember any specific event for either of these individuals, it is clear that they were both part of the overall tapestry of my life.

The term "passed" is a euphemism that is growing in usage to refer to someone who dies.  It has an air of being more respectful and peaceful.  In looking up the word this morning, I found one definition to be "to let go without notice".

That definition is wildly inaccurate in the case of these two individuals.  My thoughts, and those of many others, are with their families today.