La Mesa Patch at 6 Months: From Infancy to Obituaries

My dad is 82 and lives near Detroit. He gets the morning paper and religiously reads the obituaries.  This is a routine for millions—and has been for decades. Local death notices are local news.

But few newspapers offer this service—outside of expensive paid obituary listings. The tradition has passed away.

That changes this Friday in La Mesa Patch.

Today is the sixth-month anniversary of our launch. And to mark the occasion, we announce a new column: In Memoriam.  This is a Latin phrase that means “in memory of.”  Our collective memory of La Mesans who pass away will thus be preserved.

, raised in La Mesa and a Grossmont High School graduate, will be obituaries editor for La Mesa Patch. She will reach out to local funeral homes to resume an old service—providing free death notices to the local paper.  

Starting Friday, she will note every La Mesa death she can find. Anyone who lived in La Mesa, went to school here or died here is eligible for this column.

Putting this feature together will be a daunting task.  But a big help will be you.  Using the free Announcements tool of La Mesa Patch, you can post obituaries yourselves.  Just find the “Death Notices” category under Announcements and fill in the various boxes, or fields.  Remember our Terms of Use as you do this.  These Announcements will serve as the database for In Memoriam. 

So your help is needed and appreciated.

Unlike the traditional newspaper death notice, however, room exists for pictures of the dearly departed. In posting a Death Notice, you can add photos. Look for the line Photos, Videos & PDFs and click on Choose files to upload.  It’s easy. And, again, it’s free.

In olden days, the local community newspaper was a gathering space for celebration and commiseration.  Local achievements were chronicled, but also local sadness.

La Mesa Patch aims to fill this niche as well. In Memoriam, we hope, will do justice to our senior residents—giving them that last deserved recognition. An obituary.

Check back Friday for the first installment. And let us know what you like or want improved. In the end, we’re all in this together—even if we go out alone.