My father died a couple of years ago. He was a proud union civil servant, and several dozen (maybe 200) people showed up to the funeral who knew him at various

My father died a couple of years ago. He was a proud union civil servant, and several dozen (maybe 200) people showed up to the funeral who knew him at various degrees of separation. I knew only a few of them, but it impressed upon me as someone who works more with code than directly with people that so many people so distantly removed from a person would pay such respects. Who shows up to your last rites says a lot about how you lived your life. He spent time above and beyond his work duties to give people a better life by his union activity, the legacy of which lasts today. I have a small-ish family (we're on good terms) and have had some modest accomplishments at work, but most of my friends are from college, and live far away. Old work buddies I see only infrequently, and it'd be hard to imagine how they'd be notified in the case of my death, and I certainly don't have the time or inclination to become such a pioneer in FOSS that my passing would be momentous in the industry. It got me to thinking how we lose a lot not only when we're dedicated to work, but also only to too small a social circle to have the kind of old age and passing that we'd ideally envision for ourselves. It's spurred me to volunteer more time in my local community in various ways in the hopes that I'd become the kind of person others would find dependable, spread the good word about, and miss when I'm gone.