Sympathies on the marketing stuff... Mom passed away in 2014, and I'm still getting junk mail for her, advertising retirement communities or magazines. "We want you back!" Me, too, Health Magazine. Me, too.

Both my parents died in the past year. I know there has always been lots of email marketing for mother's/father's days, but I guess I'm just now noticing the volume of it. I guess they assume that even if you no longer have a mother/father alive, you yourself are a mother/father so the ads still kinda apply. Whatever. Why can't there be some global online setting where I can indicate that my parents are no longer around? Google knows a ton about me, why can't I tell them about my parents? Why can I tell all online marketers?

I hear you, Kara. My dad died last October, also from congestive heart failure, and I've been somewhat anxiously contemplating this myself for the past few weeks as the annual pre-holiday advertising onslaught commenced. But, these are all good suggestions.

Looks as if we have the makings of a party here, my Dad died last May, of CHF (at home after being hospitalized at Swedish).