Events - Event View

Join Gary Miles, the current obituary storyteller at The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Sally Downey, the paper's retired obit writer, as they discuss what obits mean to them, The Inquirer, and the families they write about.

Obituary writers have become less prevalent as many publications turn to families to write their own. The Inquirer and Daily News have a long history of notable obit writers.

Downey composed nearly 4,000 obituaries at The Inquirer from 2001 to 2012. She was previously an editorial assistant from 1978 to 2001.

Miles has written about 1,000 life stories over the last five years. He covered sports for 30 years before taking on obits during the pandemic, and he's one of the employees who has been at The Inquirer the longest. He was also a member of the 1987 P&P championship softball team.

Hear from Miles and Downey off the record, moderated by board member and Inquirer reporter Aliya Schneider.