Shea Singleton: 1977-2015
It’s never a very comfortable task to write an obituary. But it’s usually a task that’s done with a certain amount of distance, as we’re usually crafting words about some celebrity that, if we’ve ever met, it was just in passing. More often than not, we’re noting the loss of someone we’ve never known and will never have the chance to meet.
This time, it’s very different. Word came today that Shea Singleton, who contributed a number of comic book reviews here, passed away after suffering an aneurysm last night — ironically, on his 38th birthday.
We have no details, except what Shea’s father Floyd posted on Facebook. It appears to have been very sudden.
I didn’t know Shea as well as I’d have liked. A lot of that had to do with the fact that he and his family moved to Fayetville, Arkansas not too long after I met him. His wife Cynthia was a classmate of mine and my ex-wife’s back in the day, and that connection fueled the bigger connection between our families, one that was cut short as our career paths diverged.
In the time I knew him, I was impressed by his sense of humor, his ability to be positive. And I can’t help but wonder what kind of friendship we would have had if careers had left us both in Kansas City. Admittedly, after things got too busy for him to continue with his reviews, I wasn’t very good about keeping in touch — you get busy with lives, 60-hour work weeks, kids, etc. — and I write this partially to acknowledge and thank Shea for his contributions here, but also to admit to some regret that I didn’t make more of an effort.
Speaking personally, my thoughts and prayers are with Cynthia, the kids, and the rest of their family as they deal with this.
As I get older, and as I feel my own mortality looming, I get reminded that we only have a limited amount of time on Earth. And whether you believe in an afterlife or not (I happen to do so), you never know when your own time here is going to end.
Be conscious of your time limit. Say the things people need to hear before they’re gone and can no longer hear them. Turn to the people you love and appreciate that you still have them.
~ jph
