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Cheeky / Unusual Funerals & Interments

Reminds me of Billy Connolly's remarks about crematoria and how they should put a bit of razzamatazz into the presentation: "Come and see Captain Cook, watch Elizabeth Browning, see William Fry, see how Rabbie Burns . . "

Carole
 
Some years ago there was a man who requested a funeral wreath that simply said "BOLLOCKS". This was for his own funeral.
I saw the story in the Sun and kept that day's cartoon that contained various other amusing suggestions for wreaths.
 
Which reminds me of the criminals who were sentenced to community service, which included planting seeds for some nice new plants in public places. The following spring the flowers bloomed to spell out some very rude words...
 
True story, my Mother had an aunt by marriage who left instructions for a mildy cheeky funeral. As the coffin was lowered into the grave a lone piper played 'Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye'.

My brother was there and he said the best thing about it was that it wasn't imediately obvious what the tune was as it's not a pipe tune. He said you could see people mouthing the words to the song as they tried to work out what it was then getting to the chorus and having to stiffle the laughter. It was a great tribute to a lovely woman who was known for her wonderful sense of humour.

He said it was the only funeral that he's ever been to where people left the graveside smiling but with tears in their eyes.

Cujo
 
:confused:
these wierdos are offering ancient egyptian type funerals...though i wouldn't mind one :rolleyes:

u've all heard off the rock band Kiss, right? they sell coffins on their website...strangos...:eek:
 
well i saw a pic of an actual newspaper advertising a tombstone which i thought was funny, im putting it on this post, but please tell me if it's not actually there. im new here and i don't know how to post attatchments :(
 
I suspect that my departure, both spiritually and bodily, will involve twisted aluminium and a pair of comically smouldering boots. Make a nice talking point for hillwalkers or something.
 
The woman behind some of Plymouth's most bizarre funerals
By Sarah_Herald | Posted: May 21, 2017
Video: 1m.

A three-hour rock concert, writing a final love letter and blowing a stationmaster's whistle as the coffin disappeared are just three of the weird but wonderful funeral requests made in Plymouth recently.

Wendy Coulton became Plymouth's first funeral celebrant four years ago and since then has planned a myriad of services, guiding families through the most agonising time before saying goodbye to their loved ones in the best way possible.

The 48-year-old former journalist passionately believes no one funeral should be the same, which is why she always goes above and beyond to realise people's wishes.

And if that involves wearing tight jeans and staging a rock concert, so be it.
"This was for a young man who was a musician," explained Wendy, who lives in Devonport. "All of his friends performed different pieces for a three-hour open-mic event.
"I very much dressed down and at their request the theme was rock and roll. Everyone, including me, entered into the genuine spirit of the event."

From tributes and eulogies, to school bands and solo singers, the funeral was a world away from a traditional service with a procession in black.
Wendy continued: "His mum wanted him to arrive in a rock and roll-style, so the coffin was escorted by bikes, and the route of the hearse passed by all of the places he used to play gigs at in Plymouth.
"A lot of thought went into the detail, which was very much created by his mum."

Wendy believes every person is "truly unique", which is why their funeral should be too.
But because we are living longer and longer, she also believes people should be planning their own send-off before they die.
"You don't have to have a terminal illness to get your affairs in order," she said. "I am a healthy, family lady, but I have written down where I want to be cremated or buried, what special touches I want, what music I would like, if I have any other express wishes – and my family know where the box is in the house where that piece of paper is kept.
"I think, for me, it is the last act of love for my family."

She added: "I see a lot of families where there weren't these discussions and when they are not feeling at their best and when they are quite distressed and feeling vulnerable, you can have these situations where family members can't even agree between themselves what the person's wishes would have been.
"It is just unnecessarily distress and tension when you really could do without it.

"In my household you would expect we talk about death very openly, but if you are not comfortable then at least write it down, and most importantly, tell somebody where it is. It could save an awful lot of heartache and tension when the time comes."

etc... (Long article)

http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/ply...ful-funerals/story-30342952-detail/story.html
 
I don't know if this is popular in other countries but here in the southern portion of the United States its very popular to decorate grave sites. Not just flowers but seasonal type items like mini Christmas trees, pumpkins, easter bunnies. Also solar garden lights are also extremely popular.

I will come back and haunt my family if they do anything like this. Ha ha!
 
'It was the man's last request' - Funeral car goes for a wash and wax at Cobham petrol station
By Riley Krause cavemankrauseReporter - Croydon & Merton
10389193.jpg

Going for one final wash

0 comment

Some want The Beatles be played at their funeral; others ask for their ashes to be scattered into the ocean.
But one man's final request had a few people scratching their heads.
Chris Higgins popped into the Cobham petrol station in Bridgeway last week to fill up his tank.
But as he was going about his business, a hearse pulled in.
etc
https://www.surreycomet.co.uk/news/...7GMvx_Z8q23_-y_NzSNkOVzYIjlEKlszqSJ5mtRTnp_bs
 
This is more "awkward" than "strange" ... In recent years it's become common for lots of unrelated people to attend the funerals of US military veterans who die alone with no known family. The stories of such veterans' end states proliferate through social media, whereupon sentimentality and patriotism motivate large turnouts.

In this Florida case the deceased veteran's situation wasn't quite as advertised ... Oops ...
Thousands showed up for the funeral of a veteran with no family. Then the truth came out.

On the day of Edward K. Pearson’s funeral, traffic in Sarasota, Fla., came to a standstill. An estimated 4,000 people showed up to pay their respects to the 80-year-old Army veteran, and the roads were so jammed that the service had to be delayed for nearly an hour while the car carrying his ashes was stuck in transit.

Hardly any of the mourners packing Sarasota National Cemetery for the full military funeral on Oct. 1 had met the man they were there to honor. Instead, they had come because of a brief obituary that had gone viral, saying that the elderly veteran had no immediate family and inviting the public to attend his memorial service.

It was a heartwarming story. But the truth turned out to be slightly more complicated.

As Sarasota Herald-Tribune columnist Chris Anderson recently discovered, Pearson actually had two sons and had walked out on his family when the boys were teenagers. Until their father’s obituary went viral, they had been under the impression that he was dead. But even though the two men came forward the day before the service, the funeral home didn’t inform the public that Pearson did, indeed, have living family members. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...ran-funeral-after-viral-obituary-he-had-sons/
 
Brilliant, I'll bear this in mind for when I fall off the perch
Irish funeral bursts into laughter after pre-recorded message of dead man is played
19681014-0-image-a-2_1571039625509.jpg

Mourners in Ireland couldn’t believe it when they heard a voice beyond the grave at a local man’s funeral.
Those who attended the funeral of Irish Defence Force veteran Shay Bradley on Saturday in Kilmanagh, Leinster, couldn’t believe it when he started speaking to them from his coffin.
As they watched his coffin being buried his voice could be heard shouting: 'Hello, hello. Let me out.'
This is the moment the mourners at the grave site can be seen bursting into laughter after hearing the message Shay Bradley put into his coffin before his death

etc

twnews.co.uk/uk-news/irish-funeral-bursts-into-laughter-after-pre-recorded-message-of-dead-man-is-played
Link is dead. The MIA news story (text only) can be accessed via the Wayback Machine:
https://web.archive.org/web/2020092...er-pre-recorded-message-of-dead-man-is-played
 
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My mother's cremation took place at a crematorium with 2 chapels which were back to back with each other. Both chapels were in use on that day. As is customary, her nearest family members i.e. my sister and I, were shaking hands with the other mourners as they left after the service. Finally a man, a total stranger and the last of the mourners, approached and shook our hands. "You won't know me", he said., "I was meant to be at the service in the other chapel but came in here by mistake. When I realised I was in the wrong place the service had already begun and I was unable to leave. My condolences anyway." He touched his hat and walked off.

That funny incident brightened what was otherwise a pretty ghastly day.
 
Here's an unusually apt form of commemoration. The funeral was for a guy who died along with two passengers while driving wildly on the wrong side of an expressway. The funeral convoy apparently decided to emulate his example.
Gardaí investigate after hearse carrying coffin involved in dangerous high-speed driving incident in Dublin

GARDAÍ ARE investigating after a clip was widely shared on social media showing a series of vehicles-- including a hearse-- driving dangerously in Dublin.

A video posted to snapchat showed multiple vehicles driving erratically and at high speed through Crumlin, south Dublin yesterday.

In the video, taken by a man travelling in a car behind a hearse, vehicles could be seen driving at speed, beeping and cheering, and veering in and out of heavy traffic.

At one point, footage captures several cars racing through a red light and driving on the wrong side of the road. ...

The hearse itself, which is carrying a coffin, appeared to be driving at high speed as other cars and motorcycles raced behind it, beeping their horns and shouting, with most cars carrying images and tributes to the deceased. ...

The hearse is understood to have been carrying the coffin of Dean Maguire, one of three men killed during a high-speed chase involving Gardaí on the N7 last week.

All three passengers were killed instantly when they travelled at speed down the wrong side of the N7 and smashed head-first into a lorry.

Throughout the video, the man filming could be heard shouting 'Go on, Deano!' as cars following behind the hearse revved their engines. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.irishpost.com/news/gard...-high-speed-driving-incident-in-dublin-216156
 
I had a friend who did this with her mom’s ashes.
I knew a bloke in Tamworth who went under the name Eddie Armchair who was the singer in a punk bank, The D.H.S.S.. He'd take his Dad's ashes on stage .. not for shock value, he just wanted his Dad at his gigs but The Daily Mirror did an article on this and lied saying he was throwing the ashes over the crowd.
 
I heard there was a movie extras agency that offered an odd funereal service.
They would supply a mysterious stranger, complete with a single red rose, to stand, like a John Le Carre character, at the back of a graveside gathering, just looking enigmatic.

I want it!
 
'only' $500? I'd do iy for a tenner and pint of Best.

'For only £10 I will come to your funeral and stand aside, belching and farting, dressed in a battered cycle helmet and hi-viz Lycra leggings, with absurdly baggy waterproof overshorts (no matter what is the actual weather). So that your friends and relatives will wonder for ever, with which Dark Secret you went to the next world!'

All I'd need to do is quick detour on my regular ride.
 
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