Funny Obituaries Get the Last Laugh

Aaron Joseph Purmort kicked off a trend back in 2014 when he wrote his own funny obituary for the StarTribune about how he died of complications from a radioactive spider bite. He actually died of brain cancer.
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Some people avoid reading obituary notices like the plague. Others turn to them first thing every morning, a cup of coffee in one hand, newspaper or tablet in the other. No obit reader, however, expects to get a laugh out of the capsule biographies of the latest dearly departed.

Still, a few precious people facing death manage to lighten up the traditional obituary by pre-writing hilarious death notices. Or perhaps they’ve given comic license to those bequeathed the task of writing final public tributes, which in many cases turn out to be mild “roasts.”

Funny Stories and Legacies

When mid-westerner Terry Ward died last year, his daughter wrote this unique expression of his death.

“Terry Wayne Ward, age 71, of DeMotte, IN, escaped this mortal realm on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2018, leaving behind 32 jars of Miracle Whip, 17 boxes of Hamburger Helper and multitudes of other random items that would prove helpful in the event of a zombie apocalypse.”

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Rapt family members, friends and even strangers read on, taking in additional amusing details about this man who seemed ready for anything — except possibly his own death. No doubt the readers had smiles on their faces when they learned Mr. Ward first impressed his “overly-patient” wife by telling her he was a lineman — though “he didn’t specify early on that he was a lineman for the phone company, not the NFL.” Chances are readers laughed even more heartily when they read that he graduated from Thornridge High School “where only three of his teachers took an early retirement after having had him as a student.”

Laugh and the World Laughs With You

The occasional comic death notice use to remain an inside joke among family and friends. But in this age of social media, the last laugh can become a far-reaching, lasting laugh. Most obituaries appear on Legacy.com, where people can search for notices by name. But Terry Ward’s funny obit was also picked up by the online Patch local news network at the time of his death in early 2018. In the amount of time it took a Patch editor to click “post now,” the death notice was distributed to over 1,000 Patch hyperlocal news and information websites across the nation.

People from far and wide responded by leaving a note on Mr. Ward’s local funeral home’s online guest book, many of them strangers. “Congratulations, to Terry, for raising children that would write this final tribute. I also had a dad who was unusual, in such a wonderful way,” wrote a woman from Pennsylvania. Another, from Virginia, said she saved the obituary and frequently rereads it. And from New Jersey came a sentiment felt by many: “This is an amazing obituary, I think we all hope that someone knows us well enough to speak on our lives with such candid honesty.”

Struggles Can Be Funny Too

The exaggerated truths published in the funny obituary of Jan Lois Lynch of Evansville, Indiana (also a native of Boston, Massachusetts) went viral at the time of her death last fall. In it she was said to have suffered a “sudden and untimely death … as she was only diagnosed with advanced COPD, advanced emphysema, advanced heart disease, cystic fibrosis, chronic bronchitis, stroke, extreme stubbornness, restless leg syndrome, and armchair quarterback.”

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The hyperbole doesn’t stop there. Ms. Lynch had four sons — one of whom the obit tells us “turned out okay.” We are told she loved those boys and her eight grandchildren “more than anything else in the world …except the New England Patriots, the Boston Red Sox, Tom Brady, cold Budweiser, room temperature Budweiser, cigarettes, dogs, mopeds, clam chowder, boating, fishing, Florida, the Atlantic Ocean, grouper sandwiches, adventures, road trips, the beach, Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, fall foliage, airplane food, ingrown toenails, the OJ chase, and the OJ trial – in that exact order.”

As odd as this all sounds, the loving spirit that embraces the family’s sense of humor becomes apparent later in the notice when the writer states, “Jan will be missed dearly by all who knew her. She was an incredible woman. She had an unparalleled zest for life and an infectious laugh that thankfully was passed down to her sons and their children.” No exaggeration there.

One of Ms. Lynch’s sons — not necessarily the “one” who turned out okay —  told The Courier Press that while life for his mother wasn’t easy, she always pushed through with a “laugh and a smile.” Apparently, Ms. Lynch, Mr. Ward and others who are remembered in funny obituaries want the loved ones they leave behind to continue to do the same, even in their absence.