Amazing Adoption Stories Shared in Obituaries
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2 min readThere are many ways to make a family — and many ways to tell the story of a life.
Who should be named in an obituary? Deciding which family members and friends to list in a loved one’s obit is a difficult choice for many families. For families who’ve come together via adoption, the issue can be particularly fraught.
During Adoption Awareness Month this year, we searched through Legacy’s obituary archive to see how families are discussing adoption in obituaries. Many simply make mention of the deceased either having been adopted or being a parent of adopted children. A handful of obituaries, however, highlight adoption in unique and powerful ways.
Some of these obituaries focus exclusively on the adoptive family, while others list birth parents in addition to the families who raised them. Some obits detail an adopted person’s struggle to find their unknown biological relatives, while others feature adoptions that occurred within a family. A few obituaries mention the agencies that facilitated the adoption, and at least one obituary gives a shout out to the judge who presided over the adoption.
Collectively, the adoption stories shared in these 15 obituaries remind us that there are many ways to make a family — and many ways to tell the story of a life.
Born in Kansas in 1971, Tami Lyons was adopted by Jerry and Mary Laird of Wyoming. According to Tami's obituary, “her mother, Mary, was the center of her world.”
For her sweet 16, Tami received a unique gift: she got to meet her birth mother Barbara Smith and her extended family.
The loved ones listed in Tami’s obituary are a who’s who of her family, whether related by adoption, birth, or marriage:
“Tami was preceded in death by her parents, uncles Jim, Jerry, and Danny, and special ‘dad’ Stan Smith.”
“She is survived by husband Brett, daughter Madison (21) … and sons Michael (18) and Charlie (12) … brother Tom Laird … nephew Christian Laird … several aunts, uncles, and cousins as well as her birth mother Barb Smith … and her family.” Read more
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