PORTLAND (AP) — When it came to his obituary, a theater professor from Maine left nothing to chance. He wrote it himself, in the first person.

Minor Rootes, who died Saturday at 86, used the opportunity to thank those who were positive influences in his life, including his parents, his former wife and his current wife.

He also thanked his oncologist and Mercy Hospital “for keeping me alive for an extra decade.”

The longtime University of Southern Maine theater professor wrote that he learned from his students, and that they were really “the ones who educated me.”

Maria Antonieta Rootes, his wife, told the Portland Press Herald that her husband wanted to say his own goodbyes in a personal way.

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