Woman With Email Job Dies As She Lived: Sorry For The Delay

REMOTE, USA—Acquaintances and colleagues alike are grieving Dana Tepler, 32, a contract content editor who died Monday evening.

Those who synced with Tepler say she left a lasting impact on the team. She redefined quarterly metrics with ideas like: “OKR? More like OK…R…we done here???” Her icebreaker questions inspired competing hashtags and new company guidelines around icebreakers.

Above all, Tepler will be remembered for her email responses, which were a lot like her passing. Somehow they slipped through the cracks until now, and she truly, deeply, intensely regrets the delay.

A cause of death has yet to be determined, but Tepler was reportedly in good health. Just last week, she spent two hours on Zoom for a company-mandated wellness workshop.

“Dana led a very active lifestyle,” a coworker said. “Her Slack status said ‘active’ until the end. When I logged on and saw she was ‘idle,’ I knew something had to be wrong.”

Tepler’s team canceled their Wednesday Lunch & Learn to accommodate her funeral, which streamed on Zoom, Teams, and Webex. The casket was closed, but her #OpenToWork LinkedIn photo was prominently displayed. Many connections expressed condolences that she will never be able to circle back again.

Tepler’s manager delivered the eulogy:

“For someone who was never full-time, Danielle lived a remarkably full life. Yeah Dana, that’s what I said. Anyway, her loss leaves a hole—one that needs to be backfilled immediately. Moving on is never easy, but I know Dana would have wanted our team to stay agile. In lieu of flowers, a resume, cover letter, and nine professional references may be sent to Jeff in HR. Salary will be discussed upon hiring, if at all. The ideal candidate isn’t motivated by that sort of thing.”