John Haines, a poet, essayist and...

...memoirist, died at age 86. He is survived by:

...his fifth wife, Joy Destafano, from whom he is separated. He is also survived by a stepdaughter, Annie Skilling, and a brother, Robert.

Fifth wife?

He was often alone and sometimes with one of five wives or a girlfriend, most of whom quickly tired of the wilderness — or his famously cantankerous personality.

"Cantankerous personality?" Hmmm. Is that obituary-ese for ... "A*****e?"