"Deceased" and "passed away"..........

[Bob Wright]

Maybe I'm just old fashioned, stubborn, and opinionated, but the use of these words to indicate the death of someone sort of grates on my nerves.

I have always heard these terms, deceased and passed away used when the death is from natural causes.

"He died in a car wreck" has become "He passed away as the result of a automobile crash."

"He was found dead as the result of a bullet wound." is now "He was found deceased from an apparent bullet wound."


The flak may commence now.


Bob Wright

 

[gasbag]

.
He's just flat out dead, the lights are out, kaput, taking a dirt nap.
People use euphemisms because they don't like to use the necessary words.
It's the beginning of an approaching "Snowflake" attack where one must be
gentle and kinder and not call it what it really is because it's mean.
When I die I guarantee you I will be dead. I will probably smell that way too.

 

[Bull Barrel]

I liked what Wally and the Beav said...
"He croaked".

 

[wwb]

On the subject of death..... the Monty Python "Dead Parrot Sketch". Multiple euphemisms for "dead" starting at the 2:15 mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vuW6tQ0218

 

[sfhogman]

Whatever euphemism works best for the grieving loved ones is fine by me.

Jeff

 

[GunnyGene]

Having had some experience with this, I'd say the words used depend largely on who the dead body was. In some cases DRT applies.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Whatever euphemism works best for the grieving loved ones is fine by me.

Hi,

Same here, Jeff!

I'm sure you probably saw at least a few grieving families in your working years, and can attest that everybody has different ways of dealing with death and the news of it. For example, I've known of at least three suicides among friends, acquaintances and customers/clients. I think it safe to say that suicide is generally a touchy subject. One person used "passed away" in describing a family member's death, as suicide was a shameful thing in his mind. Another says her husband "took his own life" which sounds a whole lot better to the public than "he ate his gun" or gorier variants on what actually happened. Everybody who might actually need to know the cause of death has the facts, for the rest it's none of their business. The third one describes a grandfather's death as "He shot himself in the head, the selfish bawstahd." No love lost there...

As death becomes more and more a clinical event in so much of our society, and less a personal event we actually see first hand, I suppose the descriptions are bound to change. To each his own...

Rick C

 

[nvbirdman]

This is a passed away issue.
Quit beating a deceased horse.

 

[graygun]

I saw this video of the aftermath of a F-250 collision with a road grader. The officer said (at about 5:21 into the video) the truck driver,as a result of the collision, "succumbed to his injuries". I thought that was kind of a ridiculous way of stating it as the truck was in many,many pieces,scattered along the road.

Was he alive after the impact but then succumbed to his injuries? :shock: :roll:

I've never seen a vehicle in that state of destruction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAtpkbWtM7g

 

[blackhawknj]

"deceased"=dead in a some gentler way. Like to referring to the Late President G.H.W. Bush.
"Passed away" also a some gentler, more genteel way, to me implies a somewhat drawn out process.
People can use what they are comfortable with, and satisfies them. One friend, his parents divorced when he was young, no contact with his father, his mother "passed away" and his father "
croaked".

 

[caryc]

How about "We lost him last year"? Always thought that was stupid. If you lost him then go find him.

 

[caryc]

I saw this video of the aftermath of a F-250 collision with a road grader. The officer said (at about 5:21 into the video) the truck driver,as a result of the collision, "succumbed to his injuries". I thought that was kind of a ridiculous way of stating it as the truck was in many,many pieces,scattered along the road.

Was he alive after the impact but then succumbed to his injuries? :shock: :roll:

I've never seen a vehicle in that state of destruction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAtpkbWtM7g

Wow...looks like a new tire and a paint job and the grader will be ready to go. Can't say much for the F250.

 

[Tallbald]

My wife and I have had to choose our conversational terms more than ever expected in the 2+ years since Miss Penny's aged parents were brutally murdered in their home. We are still involved with the judicial system as they prosecute the man charged with the crimes. Early on, having myself become tired of pleasant euphemisms, I refer to Penny's parents as "dead". I also say "murdered" to distinguish the circumstances from the less offensive "killed". Those who know me know I lost interest years ago in mincing words after I left my nursing career. Don.

 

[ChiefMuzz]

Medically it is "expired" or "ceased to breathe", if you would prefer those terms.

 

[Selena]

I saw this video of the aftermath of a F-250 collision with a road grader. The officer said (at about 5:21 into the video) the truck driver,as a result of the collision, "succumbed to his injuries". I thought that was kind of a ridiculous way of stating it as the truck was in many,many pieces,scattered along the road.

Was he alive after the impact but then succumbed to his injuries? :shock: :roll:

I've never seen a vehicle in that state of destruction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAtpkbWtM7g

Hmm, a slow heavy piece of pretty solid steel meets a fast moving piece of sheet metal & fiberglass... Kind of like the 45-70 vs 5.56 argument.

 

[A.J.]

Here's my take:

Deceased = The state of being dead. "Grampa is deceased."
Passed Away = The act of dying. Example: "Grampa passed away in 1989."

People often don't do a good job of conveying their condolences. We're best served by giving them a lot of slack.

 

[caryc]

Here's my take:

Deceased = The state of being dead. "Grampa is deceased."
Passed Away = The act of dying. Example: "Grampa passed away in 1989."

People often don't do a good job of conveying their condolences. We're best served by giving them a lot of slack.

Very true and also polite.

 

[steveodtw]

I recall a teenage comedian on TV years ago questioning the use of he the term "the late Mr. so and so". He said "I don't understand why they use the term "late". "He ain't late. He ain't coming!"

 

[caryc]

How about "bought the bucket" or "kicked the farm"?

HHmmmm, something wrong there.

 

[Bob Wright]

The Bible says:

"And it is appointed to man once to die, and after this the judgement."

Hebrews 9:27

Bob Wright

 

[Rick Courtright]

The Bible says:

"And it is appointed to man once to die, and after this the judgement."

Hebrews 9:27

Hi,

No argument about your quote, Bob. BUT...

The Bible wasn't originally written in English, and our most popular English version for centuries was translated at a time we'd not started using some of these other terms. I don't even know the Hebrew, Latin or Greek word that was being translated, but "to die" seems as close as we could get for meaning and accuracy since every human on the planet understands that concept. Add that the King James translation was ordered to make the Bible "readable" to the everyday guy (if he could even read), meaning he no longer had to be fluent in one of the earlier languages to understand it. As long as the speaker and listener understand what's being said, I don't see any reason to stick our feet in linguistic concrete and restrict ourselves to a vocabulary of one word in a case like this. I think MY God understands... after all, He's sent prayers every day in 100s or 1000s of languages, and doesn't seem to be confused about them at all!

Rick C

 

[Tom W]

I worked for several years installing grave stones ( or monuments ) and sometimes I even managed to sell one if I had to work in the office on a Saturday. "Croaked", "kicked the bucket", "bought the farm", "blew his brains out" ".45 caliber salute" and such was NOT in our vocabulary. "Passed away" was most common. As I had to make the stencil for the headstone "date of death" was also common. Sometimes people would walk away and come back in a few days. As I and some of you know, It's not easy when your parents or spouse dies.

 

[Mobuck]

In the presence of surviving family/friends, I try to be polite and respectful. On my own, death is just another fact of life.