A trove of words to remember from a master obituary writer

Robert D. McFadden in an undated photo.

Robert McFadden may have left The Times, but his byline has stayed behind. He retired with more than 250 advance obituaries still in the pipeline, each awaiting its day.

The byline Robert D. McFadden has been one of the most distinguished in the history of The New York Times, one that has been affixed to hundreds upon hundreds of exactingly reported and artfully composed pieces since Bob joined the newspaper 63 years ago, beginning a Times career remarkable not just for its craftsmanship and productivity but also for its longevity. He retired on Sunday at 87.

He first achieved distinction as a “rewrite man,” a reporter who would take on some of the biggest breaking-news stories of the day — a jetliner crash, a historic blackout, the destruction of the World Trade Center — without ever leaving his newsroom desk.

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