DEAR ABBY: Because our country's marriage laws recently changed, my partner and I have decided, after 16 years together, to be married. If something unfortunate were to happen to one of us a few years down the road, what's the proper way to acknowledge our marriage in an obituary?
Technically, we could say, "He is survived by his husband of two years," but that would discount the 16 years we were together and would have been married had the laws permitted it. But saying that he is survived by his husband of 18 years seems misleading as well. How can our many years together be honored without being misrepresented? -- OBITUARY ETIQUETTE
DEAR OBITUARY ETIQUETTE: How about this: He is survived by his husband and partner of 18 years.