If I didn't respect them when they were breathing, I see no reason to change that. Face it, the world is just better off without some people. A dead asshole is still an asshole.

Respect is not owed to someone just because they are dead. That being said, I would not have written this obituary for anyone. No matter what horrible deeds the person may have committed, they are still a person. It would not, I think, make me any better than them, or make me a better person generally, if I wrote them such an obituary. If someone is disrespectful to you, that does not mean the best response is to be disrespectful back.

On a personal note, when my father died, I wrote him a letter, which I placed in his coffin. I said in it all that I felt I would have liked to say more clearly when he was living, with regards to who he was, what his presence had meant to me in my life, and how I understood why things had been the way they had. My father was a complicated man, but I still loved him. I still miss him, 7 years later.

I agree with Seer666. Years ago I worked with a guy I considered to be an major asshole. At least 90% of my co-workers openly couldn't stand this man. I came into work one day and was told he'd passed away. Almost everyone was behaving as if their best friend just died. I didn't say anything but thought to myself he was a live asshole and now he's a dead asshole. I volunteered to work during his service. I was given a grief day for doing that. I took my kid fishing that day and never once thought about him or his passing.

Respect is something earned. Its not free you dont just get it. If you cant earn the respect while your alive you dont deserve it when your dead.

No, just because someone dies doesn't mean their misdeeds in life are automatically forgotten or forgiven. OTOH, flaming someone after their death doesn't show much classs.

An old joke...

Did you know that Old Man Smith died?
Yep. Did you go to his funeral?
Yes.
Why? He was a mean SOB.
I wanted to make damn sure he was dead.