Gertrude M. Jones Anti-Bush Obituary
Netlore Archive: October 2, 2003 obituary for Gertrude M. Jones, dead at 81, requests that memorial gifts be made to 'any organization that seeks the removal of President George Bush from office.'
Description: Forwarded email
Circulating since: Oct. 2003
Status: Unknown
Email example contributed by R. Giles, Oct. 19, 2002:
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Subject: Anti-George Bush Memorial Gifts This is an obituary published in The Times-Picayune, New Orleans on 10/2/2003: "Word has been received that Gertrude M. Jones, 81, passed away on August 25, 2003, under the loving care of the nursing aides of Heritage Manor of Mandeville, Louisiana. She was a native of Lebanon, KY. She was a retired Vice President of Georgia International Life Insurance Company of Atlanta, GA. Her husband, Warren K. Jones predeceased her. Two daughters survive her: Dawn Hunt and her live-in boyfriend, Roland, of Mandeville,LA; and Melba Kovalak and her husband, Drew Kovalak, of Woodbury, MN. Three sisters, four grandchildren and three great grandchildren, also survive her. Funeral services were held in Louisville, KY. Memorial gifts may be made to any organization that seeks the removal of President George Bush from office." |
Analysis: It's unclear whether this death notice ever appeared in an actual newspaper, though I've confirmed it was published on Legacy.com, a website that hosts the online obituary sections of affiliated newspapers (including the New Orleans Times-Picayune). In any case, it has caused quite a stir, inspiring like-minded recipients to rush out and contribute to Democratic presidential campaigns in Gertrude M. Jones' name. Wesley Clark toted up 15 such donations in Montana alone, according to an Associated Press report.
Oddly enough, though, an entirely different death notice for Gertrude M. Jones — one which makes no mention of President George W. Bush — had already appeared on the same website a month earlier (on August 27, two days after her death). This version was attributed to the Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky, where Jones was in fact laid to rest. It specifies that memorial gifts be sent to the American Cancer Society:
Gertrude M. Jones, 81, formerly of Louisville, passed away Monday, August 25, 2003, in East Mandeville, LA. She was the former Gertrude Mann, a native of Lebanon, KY, an employee in the accounting department of Georgia International Life Insurance Co. and a former member of St. Pius X Catholic Church. She is survived by two daughters, Dawn L. Hunt and Melba J. Kovalak; three sisters, Drucella Stine, Mary Alice Marzian and Borgie Smith; two sisters-in-law, Josephine Mann and Geneva Jones; four grandchildren, Melissa Hinebaugh, Donald Hunt and Brad and David Kovalak; and three great-grandchildren, Nathan, Patrick and Delaney Hinebaugh. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Ratterman & Sons Family Funeral Home, 3800 Bardstown Rd., with burial in Resthaven Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 1-8 p.m. Thursday. Memorial gifts may go to the American Cancer Society.
Lolis Elie of the Times-Picayune spoke with Melba Kovalak, one of Gertrude Jones' daughters, who confirmed that the deceased was a lifelong Democrat who, though she didn't exactly hate George W. Bush, felt he "probably wasn't up to speed for being a president." Kovalak seems to think the anti-Bush memorial request was instigated by Jones herself, who spent the last year of her life in several different hospitals and nursing homes. "I think she heard about it as an obituary in one of those places," she told the Times-Picayune.
Which still doesn't explain the tardiness of the October 2 death notice, nor the inconsistencies between it and the August 27 version.
One possible explanation is that the two notices were placed at different times by different family members who didn't consult one another (or perhaps even disagreed) on the details.
Jon Donley, editor of Nola.com, the Web edition of the Times-Picayune, stresses the point that strictly speaking both items are death notices, not obituaries - the difference being that obituaries are composed and fact-checked by newspaper staff, while death notices are paid listings similar to classified ads and "can say pretty much whatever people want [them] to say."
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Sources and further reading:
Gertrude M. Jones - October 2 Death Notice
As published on Legacy.com (no longer accessible)Gertrude M. Jones - August 27 Death Notice
As published on Legacy.com (no longer accessible)Dying Wish Seeks Bush's 2004 Defeat
New Orleans Times-Picayune, 10 November 2003Anti-Bush Obit Draws Funds to Democrats
Associated Press, 8 November 2003
Last updated: 11/11/03
