Man's Obituary: 'Don't Be an Idiot'

Geoffrey Turner died of lung cancer, uses his last words to urge others to quit smoking
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 24, 2019 8:41 AM CST
Man's Obituary: 'Don't Be an Idiot'
In this June 22, 2012 file photo, a smoker extinguishes a cigarette in an ash tray in Sacramento, Calif.   (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

Geoffrey Turner is dead, and he would like you to know exactly why: "I was an idiot who made the same stupid decision, day-after-day, multiple times per day. I was a smoker and even though I knew it may eventually kill me, I chose to deny the truth to myself," he wrote in his own obituary, per Today. Turner died earlier this month at the age of 66 of lung cancer, having been diagnosed in November with stage four cancer. Turner, of upstate New York, appears pretty content with his life—but agonized over it being cut short. "I lived a decent life, but there are so many events and milestones I will not be able to share with my loved ones. The moral of this story—don't be an idiot. If you're a smoker—quit—now—your life depends on it and those that you love depend upon your life."

Turner's final words are getting picked up, and daughter Sarah Huiest says that she's heard from people "who said that they may be one of those reached before it’s too late. And I have seen hundreds of times that it has been shared in the hopes of compelling someone to quit." She adds that while her dad was always vocal that she and her four siblings should "never start" smoking, he never seriously made a move to quit. Concludes her dad: "Remember, life is good—don't let it go up in smoke." (More smoking stories.)

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