Dear Miss Manners:
I am at the age when a lot of my friends’ parents are dying. Is it proper to attend a funeral of a parent I didn’t know? My thoughts have been that I got to a funeral to honor the family members, i.e., my friend, who has lost a parent or sibling. I don’t want to be improper on such a solemn occasion. But I love my friends dearly and would appreciate if they came to comfort me and acknowledge a death in my family, even if they didn’t know my relative personally.
Gentle Reader:
Miss Manners seldom receives the question and answer in the same letter. Yours don’t leave her much to do but congratulate you on your sensitivity and commend your attitude.
Martin, Judith; Miss Manners’ Guide for the Turn – of – the – Millennium p. 671