As most people on this board do, I apologize in advance if this has already been brought up. I've tried searching the threads before I posted and nothing really came up in regards to the question I have.

I've heard theories that Helen was the one that planted the obituary in the paper that Jack read. I was rewatching Lockdown today and there is a part in the beginning where Locke is getting ready to take her on the picnic and says something to the tune of "just read your obituaries."

Some of the threads I read mention that it was just a set up for that episode and him finding out his dad is "dead." Given what we know now though, is it possible that it was foreshadowing lockes death and her writing the obituary? I don't know if this is a general theory per say but I posted it here because I'm sure you guys can add to whatever I've missed.

To me, it looks like Jack was looking at a news article, not an obituary. It has a headline (something like "Man Found dead in Downtown Loft,") unlike a obit which would usually just have the person's name and a picture (at least the ones in the papers i've read.) So it was probably just a police report, and not an obit.

And as to the persistent question question of who arranged for his service, what happens to people with no family and are found by the police? I honestly have no idea.

A link to Lostpedia's screencap of the newspaper article:
http://lostpedia.com/wiki/Image:Article_small.jpg