Student Journalists Host Death Race

By Amanda Rabines

Patrick Farrell, Pulitzer Prize winning photographer, is happy to be alive.

He recently attended his own memorial service hosted by FIU’s Society of Professional Journalists and FIU’s Association of Black Journalists.

The clubs collaborated with Michael Koretzky, SPJ Region 3 director, to hold the second obituary writing competition, called “Death Race,” in which participants attend a fake memorial service and then try to write the best obituary.

“It’s interesting to have people talk about you in the past, even though you’re still here,” Farrell said. “I think this is a good opportunity for young journalists, and I was willing to die for that.”

On Dec. 6, students from FIU and Florida Atlantic University gathered at Emmanuel Funeral Homes in North Miami, to listen to eulogies presented by Farrell’s family.

Before the service began, Neil Reisner, FIU journalism professor, and Brandon T. Ballenger, president of SPJ Florida, prepped students on writing obituaries.

“You’re not writing about death; you’re writing about life and community,” said Ballenger, who shared advice he acquired from Howard Cohen, Miami Herald’s obituary writer.

At the service, Jodi Farrell, Patrick Farrell’s wife, and Lucy Farrell, their daughter, presented heart-filled testimonies packed with short stories, jokes and detailed experiences that shined a light on Patrick Farrell’s life.

Jodi Farrell went as far as disclosing her husband’s fake death, which happened subsequently after a delivery truck backed him over on his driveway when he went to pick up the newspaper.

“Who would have imagined that what finally got him at age 55 was the Miami Herald’s last newspaper delivery guy,” joked Jodi Farrell. “I knew it was probably one of the ways he wanted to go, with a newspaper clutched in his hand.”

Students conducted interviews, took photos and shot videos of Farrell’s family and some of his closest colleagues at the event.

They then commuted to FIU, where they had an hour to write Farrell’s obituary, knowing Farrell himself would get to choose the winner.

“Writing an obit and having an opportunity to practice, I feel like I have a leg up,” said Katie Lepri, FIU’s SPJ former vice president. “It was difficult because there was a moment at the funeral where it seemed real, but I know now, I’ve at least written one [obit] and it’s not as scary as it might seem.”

Lepri won second place, and Emily Bolch, a junior from FAU, won first.

Both took home a trophy urn, the first place urn being larger and engraved with the words: Best Obituary Writer 2014.

“Katie Lepri definitely pulled together a lot of information with seemingly effortless writing,” said Patrick Farrell, on the results. “But Emily Bolch, demonstrated flare for writing with attention to detail and got my Bustello [Cuban coffee] fixation and a lot of the facts correct.”

Jodi Farrell helped choose the winners.

“As a journalist, I really appreciated the chance for students to see how the whole process works before actually doing it in real life,” Jodi Farrell said. “It is an art [obit writing], and it’s an important thing to do because it’s the last documentation of someone’s life.”