We still get our city Sunday paper, although it is thinner and smaller every year. One thing I like to do is read the obits, scanning to find ones that seem interesting to me. I like to see what the deceased family thought of him / her, what value they brought to the lives of others or what value they chose to create for themselves.
There is also the interesting puzzle of reading between the lines, all families have some drama, divorces, blended families, difficult relationships often get alluded to obliquely and it is entertaining to read into names mentioned and omitted and descriptive word choices to try to assemble a more complete picture of a life lived.
Most are like this person, "worked hard all their life, loved spending time with their family and friends and pursuing hobbies" but occasionally you get someone that really says to me "that was a life really well lived" or even "that was an obit well written" (not that a simple life isn't worth celebrating)
Also, Wendy I was able to find the name of the person easily through google, but perhaps that wasn't your intent, It may have been just to prevent someone searching the name from finding this post on DZ.com.