There is a gentleman I knew in our business that passed away several weeks ago. He had a large family and was well thought of and will be missed. I was reading through the online comments to his obituary and saw something several times that made me cringe. People had written the term “RIP” as if they were giving a blessing for him. I may be the only person that finds that offensive, but I do. I understand it means, rest in peace, but the idea of paraphrasing it to read RIP just seems sacrilegious to me. It is like referring to Christmas as X-mas. I believe if you are going to speak words over the deceased, at least have the decency to spell it out and not use abbreviations.

I feel certain the people meant well but a part of me wonders what that wife and those children felt when they read that abbreviation. When I think about these type things I always ask myself, what I would like people to say about me when I am gone. I would like for someone to say rest in peace friend while taking the few extra seconds to write out the whole phrase. KT