What Is the Craziest Thing You've Seen At A Wake? (Inspired by Camcolt and C. Ann)

[Jeafl]

Two things come to mind--

At a wake for a 8 month old baby, they had the baby laying on her tummy in the casket with her arm around a teddy bear. Some lunatic let her child (maybe 3 yrs. old) go up to the casket and rip the teddy bear out from under the poor baby's arm. The gasps in the room were horrifying and the goofy mother just goes "He doesn't know any better--I'll put it back". Then she proceeds to manhandle the poor dead baby trying to arrange the bear again. In the meantime the kid is yelling "Give it to me--I want it!". I still cringe when I think about that today. The woman never apologized to the baby's family.

On a lighter note, when a local young laywer around here was shot by a client's husband, they had a wake where they sat him in a chair, put a Cubs hat on his head and put a beer in his hand. There was a party going on all around him. I didn't go, but I remember reading about it in the papers.

 

[WeirdEyes]

Never really seen anything crazy myself but I've heard some stories. I personally hope everyone is still talking about my funeral when I'm gone. I want an open bar next to my casket, margaritas, cheese burgers, chicken wings, and hot Krispy Creme doughnuts. With some Jimmy Buffett music playing all day long. I don't want anyone to be sad. Just want everyone to say "Some of it’s magic, some of it’s tragic, But he had a good life all the way"

I like your idea, Kyle. I think I'll copy it except I want Def Leppard playing in the background. I also want bagpipes to play "Amazing Grace." The bagpipers (is that word?) have to wear their kilts also.

 

[aprincessmom]

My ex's family...wake of his niece.

Her mom, my xsil, sat next to the open casket and spent the entire 4 hours doing and redoing the deceased's hair in different styles. Also insisted her granddaughter, who was only 10 at the time and who's mother was laying in the casket, have her picture taken with her mom with each change of hair style.

None of her sisters or brothers (my x and all my xsils and xbil) did anything to try to stop it or at least help the little girl. She was an absolute wreck by the end. I tried to take her out of there at one point and one of them came to me and said let her stay, she's a great comfort to her grandmother!

What a nightmare.

 

[luvwinnie]

Jeafl....that is just beyond horrible.

 

[wishuponastarforever]

Something crazy at a wake
Does the person who died qualify????

What stories especially your two Jeafl - one so horrible and the other so funny.

I love Kyle's ideas too.

When I lived in Texas (which I loved so I can poke fun)
I said if I died there I wanted to be embalmed with ant killer so I could continue to kill the **** red ants as long as I could.

Now that we're no longer in Texas, I just want to be cremated and have a huge party with fireworks and one big celebration. I want the cost to be at a minimum for the funeral part and spent big time on the goodvibes

 

[mermaidlady]

At my fil's funereal his sister turned up drunk and spent the wake bashing her 2 (adopted) older kids while saying how smart her youngest(natural born) child was. Her poor daughter left as soon as she saw her mother

 

[CamColt]

OMG! Some of these are wild.
That teddy bear story had me sitting here in awe for a good 5 minutes. I finally was able to pick my jaw up! How sad!

 

[sha_lyn]

I have a coupld more stories, both involving the same person.

I grew up with "T". I should I say I've know her since Iwas 5. She however has never grown up. We didn't speak for yrs and then she showed up at my grandfather funeral 15 yrs ago.
When T arrive my I was sitting with most of my immediate family in the kitchen of the funeral home. T comes up and sits down, obviously high as a kite. she then proceeds to talk about all kinds of crazy stuff from highschool. she's laughing up a storm and talking about how wild I was in school.


Luckily she was jail 7 yrs later when my maternial grandmother died.

About 4 yrs ago my paternal grandmother died and T shows up again . I hadn't talked to her in many yrs at that point and had actually parted very angrily because I wouldn't be her taxi at 2 am when she got stranded at a bar, and because I was going to charge her gas money to take her to get new contact lenses.

anyway she shows up at the funeral home, this time she is sober but the person who brought her was high and came in and told me that a friend of mine was there too because her grandfather died. "A" had me very upset and then she ask me to help her find this person. Turns out she was so high that she imagined the whole thing.

 

[Shugardrawers]

My cousin showed up at my grandmother's funeral wearing jeans, a dirty torn tshirt and a trashed leather jacket. His brother tried to offer him a button down shirt and tie at least but he would have none of it. He later said he didn't know the funeral would be held at a church (like that makes a difference?). Ummmm....she was a ministers wife and extremely religous and active in her church since she was a child. Where the heck else did you think it would be held????

I am continually stunned at the lack of respect people show for the deceased by dressing so casually at funerals. I couldn't bring myself to go in anything other than a black, gray or navy dress and no jewelry. What happened to common respect and decency?

 

[Mr.BsMom]

First of all, I'd like to say that I like Kyle's idea! I want people to celebrate my life and be happy that I'm in a better place. But I know that it's a serious time and people are sad when they lose a loved one. At my dad's funeral about 11 years ago, my whole family was seated together at the front of the church...(my Mom, aunts, uncles, cousins). My dad's brother was there with his wife. (I don't call them my uncle or aunt, so don't get confused. We had no relationship at all, so I don't really consider them family.) The brother hadn't talked to my dad in years until one day he realized that my dad was very near death, so I guess he felt compelled to start visiting him. Anyway, in the middle of the eulogy - at a quiet point, the wife lets out a *toot*. My cousin (not her child) was sitting next to her and starts giggling. Then my uncle starts, then my aunt, then my husband (then boyfriend), then me. We couldn't stop. We did keep it pretty quiet, and when we started crying from laughter people just thought we were pretty broken up from the service. When I explained it to my mom later, she laughed also. I hope no one thinks we were disrespectful... you'd have to have known my dad. His nickname from my cousins was Uncle Bubble Butt after a memorable trip through a car wash years ago when we were kids.

 

[remyandhollandsmommy]

This happened after the funeral...

One of DHs cousins had a 1mo old baby that died. We traveled from Fl to GA to be there and it was truly horrifying to see that small coffin. The crazy part was that her family had a BBQ complete with grill and all at the grave site the next day (it was the baby's 1 mo birthday) which was just strange to me. DH and I felt really uncomfortable and Remy (she was 2 at the time) kept wanting to run around and play with the toys they had brought for the kids (I didn't want her to run around the cemetary because I felt it was disrespectful). I finally just told DH I wanted to leave so we did.

 

[winniedapooh]

In late winter a very well liked and respected woman from our church died. I went to the calling hours on the way home from work knowing that her grandaughter-our babysitter-would have come up from school in South Carolina. Waiting in the line to go to the casket, some guys cell phone rings, he is maybe 8 people away from the casket, and he proceeds to have a very loud conversation with whoever on the phne telling them his is till in line blah blah blah and should be done and home in about 20 minutes and wait for him. I thought that took the cake but the people that were friends that had not seen each other in ages and cut in the line waiting to get to the casket-not 1 person but an entire family of 5-really ticked me off!

 

[dennis99ss]

Its interesting to see how people deal with death. About the BBQ, I can actually see how that would benefit the family. Jeafl--I love it.

But, I am more like Kyle. I only wish I had seen the thread first. I have told DW that I will make sure I come back and haunt her if she doesn't comply. That, and all the people I know, know about my plans.

Being a bit Irish, and liking Bud Light a bit, I have told her there will be a keg at my wake. Sure, we can say a rosary, but, for those who want to drink until I am in Heaven, why not give them a start at the wake.

I am like Kyle, celebrate my life, don't cry that I am gone. I did enough of that during the time I was sick, during the time that I had to think about my death, or, during the seconds that flashed. Let the family celebrate my passage into, hopefully, a better place. What better way to do so, than to do what I would be doing, enjoying a cold Bud Light, and maybe making a couple of toasts.

So, when I am gone, look forward to my wake. I will be.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Ugh! The worst thing I've encountered was my fil taking pictures of his wife...who just died! Ugh! And then once they were developed, he showed them to me! When my husband died, I was really afraid his dad would take pictures. If he had, I would have had to cross the line and tell him not to do it...NO WAY! Thank goodness he didn't!

 

[twinmomplus2new]

June 12, 1995... my cousins wake and funeral.

A little background first......I was pregnant with my son. my dd had a dance recital and my cousin was going to french braid her hair I called to cancel as she wanted it in a bun. when I called the shop the receptionist said oh all her appointments are canceled as her BIl Is dieing.... Huh excuse me, what my cousin????

His mom did not want her sister my dd's dance teacher to know till after the recital as she had 150 kids to get through the recital. So here I was in labor, Having to pretend everything was great with everyone till after the last dancer left the stage. then tell my Aunt she had to got ICU as her nephew was on life support.

All week long I am i Labor, Doc wants to take the baby I say no. as they are unplugging him any day ANd I did not want to have a baby and lose my cousin on the same day. Waited all week long. Called my Aunt she said no not gonna happen today. I allowed them to take the baby. He was born at 11:27 am and my cousin passed at 11:17 am. Perfect....

I left the hospitol on Sunday and went straight to the wake with a less than 24 hour old infant.
Ever been to a biker funeral?? I do not recommend it. He had some kind of do rag on his head. skull rings, necklaces...his hands were bound with another banadana thingy as a sign of brotherhood whatever..... And they had some kind of heavy metal music blasting in the viewing area. There were nips of alcohol and ciggarettes in his casket. I was sick to my stomach this was not the way I wanted to remeber my cousin who was a big bear of a man, sweet as sugar to me as a kid. I found it very distasteful.

The next day at the funeral... 500 plus motorcycles followed the casket...Someone cut in the funeral line. He was pulled over and removed from his car and made to stand till the last bike went through he did not complain.

At the grave site they all drank nips and poured them in the dirt .... Ok then.... I had enough as I was leaving I was approached and asked was this the baby that was born at the same time so and so died. this baby nope. he is month old.. sorry wrong kid... see ya!!!! It was bizzarre to say the least.