The Fairfax Obituary

John Fairfax, most notably known for being the first man to row solo across an ocean, died on February 8, 2012. New York Times writer, Margalit Fox followed up his death with an epic obituary. Margalit pieced together her obituary with the help of Fairfax’s widow and ex-girlfriend. Fairfax lived from one adventure to the next, so there were a lot of interesting events for Fox to recount. His escapades ranged from a stint as a pirate to managing a mink farm. 

Fox’s original draft of her obituary exceeded the 1,000 words typically allotted for obituaries. The final version of the obituary ended up being 1,300 words. Positive reactions began popping up all over social media sites about her obituary shortly after it was published in the paper. Fox found the responses gratifying, and she also noted that “a story like this pretty much writes itself.” Fox has authored over 800 obituaries for the Times. 

See Jim Romenesko, The Story Behind ‘The Most Bad-Ass Obit Ever’, JimRomenesko.com, Feb. 20, 2012.