Families protest Quebec-based website of obituaries

The Toronto-based National Post ran the article, Obituaries recycled to sell flowers, by Joseph Brean that likely grabbed the attention of a number of genealogists, and probably angered most of them.

The article is about an Alberta man who is complaining about the Quebec-based website, Everhere.com, founded last year with the slogan, “Where loved ones are Eternal.” The website’s aim is to create an “online database’ of publicly posted obituaries, and to arrange them geographically by city. It also offers access to genealogical data.

Everhere says it is “one of Canada’s largest databases of deceased people” in North America, Australia, and New Zealand.

Sounds good so far, right? Keep reading.

The Alberta man’s complaint about the website is that it reposts online obituaries alongside ads for flower deliveries. He doesn’t want flowers showing up at his mother’s door, and you can read the article to find out why. The family explicitly requested no flowers in the original obituary, but that line has been omitted on Everhere. In fact, Everhere encourages people to buy flowers.

The really big problem for genealogists is that the folks behind Everhere rewrite obituaries or create new ones. In many cases, it appears that they have mined the names of deceased and dates of death, and then created their own “obituary.”

It doesn’t take long to discover that many, if not most, obituaries on Everhere begin with “Sadly, on (date), (name of deceased) left us for a better place,” “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of…,” or “With heavy hearts, we announce the death of…”

I looked for the beautifully written obituary of a long-time friend who passed away earlier this year and discovered it was bastardized by Everhere.

Here is part of his original obituary:

With his family by his side, (name of deceased) passed away peacefully on (date), at the age of XX, after a long struggle with XXX. Loving husband to (name) and proud father of (name). He will be sadly missed by his brother (name). Also missed by …

(The remainder of the obituary is about the deceased’s life and funeral service.)

Here is Everhere’s version:

With heavy hearts, we announce the death of (name), who passed away on (date). Family and friends can send flowers and condolences in memory of the loved one. Leave a sympathy message to the family of (deceased’s name) to pay them a last tribute.

He was loved and cherished by many people including : his spouse, (name); his child, (name; his brother, (name) …”

(The remainder of the “obituary” is a list of some of the names.)

The site also allows users to add or edit existing information of the deceased, along with uploading photos.

Don’t get me wrong. I love sites with online obituaries as they were originally written. But don’t create bogus obituaries or rewrite existing ones to sell flowers.