Dan Treecraft lived his life the way he wanted. He ended it that way, too. When diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2010, he decided against fighting the disease and began planning suicide. He shared his decision in a Spokesman-Review story published last summer. Early Thursday morning he died after breathing from a cylinder of nitrogen gas. Suicide is legal in Washington state and a group of close friends and family surrounded him, said his wife, Jan Treecraft. Friends and family (buried) the 62-year-old, nicknamed “Beetle,” (Saturday) in the Worley Township Cemetery, where his wish to be buried in a simple pine coffin (was) granted. Treecraft embraced the role of social critic. He railed against establishment politics and corporations and was an outspoken opponent of war/John Stucke, SR. More here.

• Read Dandelion Treecraft's hilarious, irreverent obituary here.

Question: Who is the most colorful older person you know?