In Memoriam

As I've mentioned before, I always glance down at the In Memoriam section of the obituary page of the New York Times. I do this because over the years I've taken out my own In Memoriam sentiment for my co-workers who were murdered on September 16, 2002 at work.

Usually the sentiments are not accompanied by a photo, and usually they always run the gamut of a heartfelt sentiment on the anniversary of someone they lost and loved greatly. Eventually, everyone still misses someone.

So when I glanced down yesterday I was taken in by the playful one that was posted for the man pictured above, David Inglis Urquhart. Playful In Memoriams are extremely rare. They are expensive to post and not many people express death in a humorous, dry witted manner..

We are told by the person who took out the In Memoriam that Mr. Urquhart lived between 1929 and 2022. With this information it is probably safe to assume Mr. Urquhart passed away on November 27, 2002, as most In Memoriams are posted at some milestone anniversary.

That's a long life. Ninety-three years is a tremendous amount of time to be walking the earth for humans. The sentiment tells us: "Self described as an Irascible Curmudgen, politically to the right of Atilla the Hun, yet loved and admired by so many." Wow. "To the right of Atilla the Hun," yet still loved. Whatta guy!

I'm not sure I've ever seen or heard someone described as being "to the right of Attila the Hun." Who would have been to the left of Atilla the Hun? Charlemagne? Attila was a warlord in the 5th-century who gave the Holy Roman Empire fits. He was a badass warrior, whose name still resonates as a bad and barbarous guy.

Urquhart is not a common name in America. Maybe Scotland, where a Celtic clan named the Urquharts built a castle overlooking Loch Ness in the 7th-century. 

The photo of Mr. Urquhart shows someone who might be a bit impish, and if of Scottish descent would have an accent that would delight most people here in the states if they could understand him. Obviously, there were those who did.

But who was David Inglis Urquhart who delighted enough people and relatives that they would take out an In Memoriam in a widely read newspaper and post his obituary on Legacy.com?

There aren't many means at my disposal to find out who this man might have been. Is he the author the Google search turned up who wrote a series of books explaining how things worked, like refrigerators, internal combustion engines and bicycles in the 1970s, and whose books are available at Abebooks.com?

I suppose if I were to find a hardcover copy of one the books I could see if there is an author photo on the back cover flap and compare it to the one in the In Memoriam.

My guess is the books are so old that the library probably wouldn't even have them, unless I made a trip to the main New York library on Fifth Avenue. Not going to happen, however

I've Tweeted Bill McDonald, the obituary editor at the NYT, and Amy Padnani another editor on the desk, but haven't gotten a reply. In fact, I would be surprised if I did, since the paid tributes are not run through the obituary desk, and Mr. Urquhart is not likely to earn a bylined tribute obit.

Little matter. I'm sorry for the loved ones' loss, but would love to know how Mr. Urquhart got compared politically to the right of to Attila the Hun and still be lovable. 

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