Obituary Writing By Nikky Raney

Since Zennie62.com frequently reports on celebrity deaths I thought it would be appropriate to include a blog post from The Future of Journalism to help when writing obituaries. These guidelines are used for journalists - so as bloggers it's all right not to strictly follow. I post in hopes that if someone wants to blog on the recent death of someone but is struggling with putting the post together this may help:

Sierra and Nikky

My class assignment most recently was to write an obituary of one of my classmates. Of course, I chose my  best friend Sierra. It is really quite morbid to write an obituary for your friend - and even more strange being interviewed for your own obituary.

I have actually written an obituary which was published in Foster's Daily Democrat. The obituary was for my Apung (Tagalog for Grandfather) Pidong. I requested to write it instead of the reporters, because when a family member writes it it is more personal. The paper was lucky that I am a journalist, and the obituary met standards. It's easy to understand why papers prefer to not have family members write the obituary.

Anyway, here is the obituary I wrote for Sierra. I will be passing this in at 5 p.m.
Obviously not all the information is factual. I have deleted some of the information to ensure the privacy of Sierra. In the actual assignment the information is included - but I didn't find it to be necessary for the outside world. I did not include any photos within the obituary, because I think that when her real obituary is written there will be a photo from when she is older.

Sierra Lynn Blanchard-Bruce dies at 96

By Nikky Raney

            Sierra Lynn Blanchard-Bruce, 96, a long-time resident Orlando, Florida died on August 23 at Florida Hospital in Orlando.

            Born in ######### on March 2, 1990, Sierra spent the early years of her life in ######### with her parents Scott and Lisa Blanchard and her younger sister Katie.

            Sierra participated in Girl Scouts and Upward Bound before graduating from Valley High School; she spent a semester at the University of Maine and then transferred to New England School of Communications in Bangor Maine. She went on to receive her Bachelor's Degree in Communications spring of 2013.

Sierra and Nikky

            Sierra was offered a job as a reporter for Teen Vogue fashion magazine and was relocated to New York City. In 2015 at the age of 25 Sierra married her college sweetheart Colin Bruce at Central Park and then took a quick honeymoon to Aruba.

            Sierra continued to work as a fashion reporter for Teen Vogue and traveled around Europe visiting Italy, France, Spain and England. Colin had joined the Coast Guard, and the two were very wrapped up in their careers.

            Sierra relocated with her husband to San Diego, California after Sierra gave birth to Peyton in 2017. Sierra became a stay at home mom and took care of her son. Three years later Sierra gave birth to Amelia.

            During the time she stayed home with the children Sierra grew fond of photography. Her passion grew and she was constantly taking photographs of her children and soon was getting requests to take photos in more professional settings. She went back to school and continued to take courses to pursue this hobby.

            In 2030, at age 40, Sierra received her degree in Photojournalism at San Diego State University. Colin had left the Coast Guard and was working as a freelance sport's reporter.

            Sierra started her own photography business in 2034 which she named Sierra's Shots. Sierra was hired to photograph many celebrity weddings as well as fashion events. Her connections from when she worked at Teen Vogue helped her really get her photography business booming.

            Sierra and Colin moved to Orlando, Florida at age 75 to retire. Peyton and Amelia joined together to continue with Sierra's Shots in San, Diego while raising families of their own.

            Sierra became a widow in late 2070 when Colin died in a motorcycle accident at Daytona Beach at age 80. Sierra moved in with Katie and her husband George Drake and their daughter Ashlyn.

            Sierra spent the later years of her life scrap booking and baking goodies for her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She strongly believed, "Life isn't about finding yourself, but about creating yourself."

            Those who knew Sierra best will always remember her for being funny, spontaneous and caring.

            Sierra is survived by her son Peyton and his wife Judy and Amelia and her husband Doug Darrell; her grandchildren Ryan, Thomas, Jane and her great grandchildren Leslie, Michael and Ashley; her sister Katie, niece Ashlyn and great-nephew Theodore.

         The service and funeral arrangements are private as requested by the family.

Maybe later I will post the obituary that was written about me!