Shortly after the St. Petersburg Times announced Mr. Smith’s death on its website, a reader posted a comment stating the following: A man who is working as a dishwasher at the Crab Shack at the age of 48 is surely better off dead.
Web editors removed the comment, deeming it an offensive and insensitive insult to a dead man’s friends and family. Though hardly unusual – check out the comments beneath stories about any recent tragedy – this one spurred the Times to make Mr. Smith the subject of this story, as a reminder that every life matters.
The St. Pete’s Times fights back against the blackhearted cynicism of an online commenter; This is a lovely obituary and biography of a life lived without the notice of many.