No, I haven’t written it yet though I know people my age who have done so, either on their own or as part of a group exercise. But at my age, it’s not out of the ordinary to think about how I want to be remembered. Truth is, if an obit is written and published after my death, it’s unlikely to attract many readers outside my circle of family and friends.
I’ve come to the conclusion that what is most likely to survive me is my online identity. For the first few decades of my life the internet did not exist so there are no references there to my early years. Even now, since I don’t post on social media, there is only my website, which will vanish the moment the maintenance fees go unpaid, and a respectable number of links on Google and other search engines under my professional name. There are none to my nickname or legal first name. I did find one reference under my maiden name, linked to a work-related photo of me in El Paso, Texas wearing a giant sombrero along with another photo of someone else identified as me. I have no memory of the photo or the occasion. Make of that what you will.
So, I’ll exist, if at all, as Veneta Masson, nurse and writer. And I will only surface if someone has occasion to search for my name and knows how to spell it. (This assumes that the internet continues on in its present form.) It puts me in a thoughtful frame of mind. I know what matters most is the legacy I’ll leave in the hearts and lives of those I love. But may I hope that, just maybe, that legacy will include a random poem or essay from one of my books.