Last Words of Dying Workaholics

We often hear people say, “No one on their deathbed ever said, ‘I wish I spent more time at the office.’” But believe it or not, some people do die with their minds still at work.

I’m not talking about people who died accidentally on the job either, like soldiers at war or businessmen suffering heart attacks at their desks. No, these people were not at work – at least, their bodies weren’t. These people were at their deathbeds, with nothing more to do but wait for death and prepare for the afterlife.

But old habits die hard – no pun intended – and as they lived, so did they die: working.

Take the case of Clarence Walker Barron, editor of the Dow Jones financial journal. At his deathbed, his last thoughts – and words – were: “What’s the news?”

Or P.T. Barnum, the man who brought to the world the Greatest Show on Earth who, though about to die, was still concerned primarily about “How were the receipts today at Madison Square Garden?”

Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfeld died hallucinating that he was directing a show: “Curtain! Fast music! Lights! Ready for the last finale! Great! The show looks good. The show looks good.”

Leonardo da Vinciwasn’t a genius for nothing: He was devoted to his work, and a perfectionist right to the end. Despite the acclaim received by his work, his last words were, “I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.” One would think that if he had strength enough, he would have gone back and revised the Mona Lisa!

Some of them were not only unable to stop thinking about work; they were actually unable to stop working. King Edward VII died protesting, “No, I shall not give in. I shall go on. I shall work to the end.” And he did.

Nostradamus the seer foretold his own death. When the day’s work was done and his assistant bid him goodnight and politely inquired, “Tomorrow, master?” he answered: “Tomorrow, I shall no longer be here.” Those were his last words. He was found dead the next day.

French grammarian Dominique Bouhours fought all his life for correctness and purity of language. At the end, he left words of wisdom: “I am about to – or I am going to – die: Either expression is correct.”

Dr. Joseph Henry Green, too, never let death interrupt his work. His last patient was himself. Feeling his own pulse, his last word was: “Stopped.”