The Byline My Grandfather Always Looked For

以前在报馆工作时，外公是我的“忠实粉丝”。

他每天都会仔细翻看报纸，寻找署名“林佳敏 报道”的文章；偶尔也会向左邻右舍骄傲地介绍：“我的外孙女是一名记者。”

这些看似平凡的小举动，其实我一直都默默记在心里，也深深感动。

今天，我第一次把过去在新闻工作中学会的能力，用在自己的家人身上。

在长辈们、哥哥弟弟们的鼎力协助下，我们一起完成了外公的讣告。

从长幼排序、每一位长辈晚辈名字的反复校对，到出殡细节的确认，以及与报馆负责人的接洽，都在截稿前顺利完成。

我从没想过，当记者时学会的那些事情：看讣告、仔细审稿、“睁大眼睛认真检查”，有一天会成为亲戚朋友眼中的一种可靠与担当。

这一则讣告，不只是文字。

它承载着我们一大家人，对外公最后的一份敬礼。

感恩您曾陪伴我们走过人生许多岁月。

外公，一路走好。🙏

When I was working at Singapore Press Holdings, my grandfather was my most loyal supporter.

Every day, he would carefully flip through the newspapers to look for articles carrying the byline “Lim Ka Min”.

From time to time, he would proudly tell the neighbours, “My granddaughter is a Chinese Journalist working at SPH Media.”

These may have seemed like small and ordinary gestures, but I quietly kept them close to my heart, and they meant so much to me.

Today, for the first time, I found myself using the skills I learned as a journalist for my own family.

With the tremendous help of my elders, brothers, and relatives, we completed my grandfather’s obituary together.

From arranging the names according to seniority, repeatedly checking the Chinese characters of every family member’s name, confirming the funeral details, to liaising with the contact person from SPH, everything was completed smoothly way before the deadline.

I never imagined that the things I learned as a reporter: reading obituaries, carefully proofreading, and “keeping my eyes wide open to check every detail”, would one day become something my relatives would see as dependable and worthy of praise.

This obituary is more than just words.

It carries our entire family’s final tribute and respect for my grandfather.

Some skills we learn for work eventually become acts of love for the people closest to us. Grateful for the chance to honour my grandfather in this small way. 一路走好，外公。🙏