Death Notices Everyone

I'm not quite sure I understand the reasoning behind using the phrase survived by in obituaries when listing the remaining members of the family: He was survived by two sisters and a brother.

Did the person die in a car crash and everyone else lived? Were they on a cruise together that hit an iceberg and blooped to the bottom of the sea, but somehow the rest of the family managed to get seats on a life raft and the deceased obviously didn't? Was the person so horrific that you would actually feel like you passed some kind of endurance test if they died before you?

Why don't they just say what they really mean? He was out-lived by his sisters and one brother because they were somehow luckier or smarter or better than him.

Instead of grief counseling would they attend survivor-guilt therapy? I think I'd like to go to one of those meetings and see what really goes on there. I'll bet there are high-fives and handshakes going around in endless circles in that room, practically a gloatapaloozza.

But I guess it's better to gloat than to bloat, as a matter of fact, I think that's the official catchphrase of all who remain.