From Obits To Arts, With Love

Andrew Meacham is stepping down, both from his position as SPOW's president and as the writer of the Tampa Bay Times' Epilogue obituary feature. Thankfully, he has agreed to remain an active member of the society, for which we are all very grateful.

As for his work with the newspaper, Meacham plans to transition to a different position, that of performing arts critic.

In his latest column, Meacham explained how much he enjoyed working on the death beat.

"Writing these obituaries — more than 1,000 in all — has been the best experience of my career," he wrote. "People have invited me into their homes, where they shared scrapbooks and old letters and memories of recently departed loved ones. It is impossible to overstate the graciousness I have experienced from these families at the worst times of their lives, or my gratitude at being able to tell those stories."

We all wish him great success in his new job.