In the book of Ecclesiastes, the Bible says that there is a time for everything in our lives, including a time for death. And, as we approach that time for death, we think of how to say goodbye and we begin, some of us, to write our obituaries or to have others know the accomplishments that we would like to have others remember.

We want to give the preacher at our funeral something to talk about and our family something to remember.

D.G. Martin, a retired lawyer, served as UNC-System’s vice president for public affairs and hosted PBS-NC’s North Carolina Bookwatch.