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Tag: funeral

  • Nicole Kidman Speaks At Her Father’s Funeral

    On Friday, September 19, Nicole Kidman said her final goodbyes to her father Antony, who passed away from a suspected heart attack on September 12 while on a vacation to The Tanglin Club in Singapore.

    Antony’s funeral was held at the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in the Sydney suburb of Lavender Bay, where Kidman gave an emotional eulogy about her father.

    “I am Nicole Mary Kidman, the oldest daughter of my father,” she said, according to the Daily Telegraph.

    “I am able to stand here as one of the lucky ones in this world,” she continued, teary eyed. “I am a girl, a woman, who was raised by an extraordinary man. He was a good man, a compassionate man, a strong man a man that was always there for me. He was my thinker, confidant, my friend and my protector. I had a great, great father and in the true sense of the word, he was a gentleman.”

    Kidman also took the time to recall the last time she saw her father- three weeks before his death in New York. “I am so grateful that he came to New York. And I am so grateful to be his daughter and that he chosen my mother to make me,” she said. “The only regret my dad would have now is that he is not here to see his beautiful grandchildren grow up and he is not here to take care of her [Janelle]. That’s all he ever cared about.”

    Nicole’s husband, country music superstar Keith Urban, was there to comfort his wife, and even performed an acoustic version of Amazing Grace. “Keith was amazing, he organized everything on the day with [Nicole’s sister] Antonia’s husband, Craig,” a friend close to the family said. “The whole day was a celebration of Antony and an incredible tribute to his amazing life.”

  • Westboro Baptist to Picket Joan Rivers’ Funeral, Call Her “Fag Enabler in Hell”

    In a surprisingly uncharacteristic move, the Humanitarian arm of the Westboro Baptist Church has announced that the hate group will picket the funeral of Joan Rivers.

    In a photo posted on the group’s Instagram account, they labeled the recently-deceased comedienne a “Fag Enabler in Hell”.

    They further commented:

    “Joan Rivers wasted her 81 years being a cruel, vain, mocker of sin and God, serving herself and not giving a care for her, her daughter’s or her fans’ souls. Shame on anyone who DOESN’T picket her funeral! (Physically or digitally.)”

    The group is probably still sore over that time that Rivers supported an Indiegogo campaign for a musical play about Shirley Phelps-Roper, the group’s leader. The show is called “God Hates This Show: Shirley Phelps-Roper In Concert, Live From Hell”. Rivers, along with Margaret Cho and author Ann Bannon donated autographed swag for funders of the project.

    The campaign did achieve its $10,000 goal.

    The church claims that God Hates the Media, but it has become adept at using the media, especially social media, as a tool to get its message of hate and death out to as many people as possible.

    Recently, after tweeting a hate-filled message about Joan Rivers, the Westboro Twitter account was suspended.

    Westboro has learned that they can stay in the minds and headlines of America by simply coattailing on whatever celebrity death or event happens to be going on that week.

    Did a celeb die? Easy pickings. Tell the media you will picket their funeral.

    No death this week? Fall back to the old standby of funerals of soldiers or kids.

    Hardly a news cycle passes without the Westboro group finding some story on which to hang their “God Hates” protest signs.

  • Westboro Baptist Church Plans to Picket Robin Williams’s Funeral

    Even though the plans for Robin Williams’s funeral haven’t be released, as the family wants a private service, the controversial Westboro Baptist Church has announced that the group will picket the beloved comedian’s funeral. This group is known for protesting funerals, including the funerals of Michael Jackson, Steve Jobs, as well as a number of military service members.

    The shocking news that Williams passed away came just over a week ago. An autopsy showed that the actor committed suicide by hanging himself with a belt. Williams had apparently battled depression for some time, and his wife revealed that he had been recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. While many have used Williams’s death to promote awareness about depression and other mental illnesses, Westboro Baptist Church has decided to use his death to promote their message of hate. Williams has been targeted because of his portrayal of a gay man in the 1996 film The Birdcage.

    In a message posted to the church’s Twitter account, the church says that they plan to preach outside his funeral:

    The message appears to be an excerpt of a longer message posted to Instagram, but that particular account doesn’t appear to be active any longer. Telegraph has the rest of the post, which reads, “Westboro Baptist Church hopes to preach in lawful proximity to Robin Williams’ funeral — to warn the living: repent or likewise perish.”

    The church also made other posts about Williams’s death, including the following warning. “HEED: You spend your life mocking God and promoting sin, you get no peace.”

    In addition to the protest, Westboro Baptist Church plans to put up a billboard and included a picture of Robin Williams within the text “Robin Williams in Hell” as one of the options:

    Even though the news that Westboro Baptist Church is planning this picket may be upsetting, the group Planting Peace has put together something of a counter-protest in the form of a fundraiser to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Williams was well known for his support for St. Jude’s and spent a lot of time cheering up the young patients there.

    Post by Planting Peace.

    In an interview with Huffington Post, Planting Peace co-founder Aaron Jackson discussed the counter-protest.

    “Robin Williams played many different roles in so many people’s lives, and giving back to others was at the top of that list,” said Jackson. “When the WBC announced they were protesting Robin’s funeral, we felt like launching a fundraiser for a charity Robin loved would be the perfect way to honor him and counteract the message of hate and intolerance that the WBC continues to convey.”

    Planting Peace is using CrowdRise to raise funds for St. Jude’s in Williams’s honor. You can donate here. The group has raised close to $60,000 for the children’s hospital so far.

  • Oderus Urungus Receives Fitting Viking Tribute

    On March 22, 2014, GWAR front-man David Brockie, better known as Oderus Urungus, was found dead in his Virginia home due to an accidental overdose on heroin. Upon hearing of his passing, Lamb of God singer Randall Blythe stated, “When someone dies, a lot of the time people will say “Oh, he was a unique person, really one of a kind, a true original”- most of these people no idea of what they are talking about- they obviously had never met Dave. Dave TRULY WAS ONE OF A KIND – I can’t think of ANYONE even remotely like him. That’s VERY HARD TO SAY.” At the annual GWAR-B-Q in Richmond, Va this Friday, Blythe was able to share his views on Oderus Urungus once again as the band paid tribute to its former lead singer in the only acceptable fashion – a Viking funeral.

    The band originally said goodbye to Brockie in a private April Fool’s Day ceremony. Afterwards, however, friends realized that Brockie’s alter-ego, Oderus Urungus, had yet to receive a fitting tribute. That’s when the band launched the plan to send Urungus off in a blaze of glory at this year’s GWAR-B-Q.

    And, much like last time, the band chose Lamb of God front-man Randall Blythe to deliver Urungus’s funeral oration, who rightfully pointed out that “Dave is the only motherf**ker I know who has to get put away twice. He’s too big for one f**king funeral.” Blythe shared his words with GWAR fans in an Instagram post shortly following the ceremony:

    Tonight we sent Oderus home in a fitting manner at the public memorial for Dave Brockie. A blazing Viking ship with Oderus laid out in it, the cuttlefish pointing proudly straight up. Watching my friend Dave’s costume go up in flames in front of a thousand fans was so much more intense for me than the private memorial for friends & family we had April Fool’s Day. I spoke at both of them, as GWAR asked me to, & both times as I spoke I was sad. But watching his alter-ego burn tore me up way more than the first memorial, maybe because there was Dave, the human who was my friend who just “left us”- I never saw his body- & then there was Oderus, who was something entirely else. To watch his stage gear burn was like watching part of my life literally go up in flames. I was sobbing my eyes out as I took this photo. It was just a super-intense moment. Very beautiful, but overwhelming. Fly free, Oderus- you are missed.

    According to the band, GWAR is composed of intergalactic warriors who have made it their mission to destroy any living thing that comes across their path. Unfortunately, the warriors were relegated to waste away on the worst planet in the universe, Earth, because of their rebellious acts and unnecessary violence. Oderus Urungus, the leader of said group of warriors, was constructed 43 billion years ago on the planet Scumdogia after all of his moldy, scattered body-parts were brought back together. Urungus’s defining characteristics were his sword, called Unt Lick, and a cuttlefish over his groin.

    After Brockie’s death at the young age of 50, GWAR decided to set-up the David Brockie Fund to help assist aspiring artists who have dedicated their lives to the propagation of music and the arts around the world.

    Image via YouTube

  • 12 Bodies Discovered in Massachusetts Storage Unit

    Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley confirmed that authorities recovered twelve corpses from a storage unit in Weymouth, Massachusetts late Thursday.

    The bodies were found in Weymouth, which is situated about 13 miles southeast of Boston, after police found cremains of roughly 40 people in a different U-Haul storage unit the previous day in Somerville, which sits a little north of Boston. Both storage units were rented by former funeral director Joseph O’Donnell.

    Back in April, O’Donnell, 55, was arrested and charged with two counts of larceny after accepting a $12K advance from a family expecting a funeral, but then closed down his business, and ran off with the money. O’Donnell is presently being detained on those charges, and has plead not guilty. He goes before a judge on Friday.

    Prosecutors do not believe any of the bodies found died in a violent manner. It is evident that O’Donnell was plainly stashing corpses for financial gain, and authorities are presently working to identify the remains of those found.

    Conley said, “Our top priority right now is determining the identity of the remains we’ve discovered. We’ve seized records and documents that could help us locate those people’s families, but this will be a time- and labor-intensive task.”

    O’Donnell had been operating a O’Donnell and Mulry Funeral Home in Dorchester, Massachusetts without a license since 2008, and is being held on a $10K bail.

    Anyone with concerns about funerals or cremations that were conducted by O’Donnell should contact the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office at 617-619-4010.

    Image via Twitter

  • Brayden Denton: 5-Year-Old Gets Superhero Funeral

    Five-year-old Brayden Denton was an extreme superhero fan. Brayden’s superhero fascination started with Spider Man and then quickly took on every superhero out there.

    “He was a huge Spiderman fan,” Brayden’s mother Staci Denton said. “He had to quit just liking Spiderman because he had all the toys. So really, he liked every superhero.”

    This is why, when Brayden passed away on May 8 from a cancerous brain tumor, Staci decided to ditch the traditional funeral, and have one fit for a superhero. Instead of dresses and tuxedos, Staci wore a Spider Man t-shirt, Brayden’s uncle Cory Denton dressed as Thor, and each of the pallbearers dressed as Brayden’s favorite characters.

    “It was hard, but I did it for him,” Cory said. “We went to the Superman movie with him and he was dressed up as Superman. I watched all the Ironman [movies] with him. He’s always here with me, and I’ll always watch [superhero movies] with him because he is always with me.”

    Brayden’s heroic story was first aired in September 2013 by News 18. At that time, Brayden was fighting an intense battle with an aggressive brain tumor. As the months went on, Brayden continued getting worse, losing the ability to walk and talk. “He stopped completely walking,” Staci said. “We got through that hurdle. Then, he started not being able to eat or drink.”

    That is when Staci took Brayden to Riley Hospital for Children, where he simply stopped breathing. Staci donated Brayden’s tumor for cancer research, and has been working with Senator Ron Alting to have Indiana recognize September as National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

    Image via Facebook, Facebook

  • Julia Roberts Attends Sister’s Memorial Service

    On Saturday, May 3, Julia Roberts said one final goodbye to her half-sister Nancy Motes.

    Roberts flew to her hometown of Smyrna, Georgia to attend the nearly two-hour memorial service, at the New Smyrna Cemetery, for her sister, who took her own life back in February.

    On February 9, Motes, who was only 37-years-old and a previous production assistant on Glee, was found dead in her home from an apparent drug overdose. A suicide letter was later discovered at the scene that made reference to the estrangement between Motes and her family.

    Although Roberts and Motes did not have the best relationship, Roberts revealed, during an interview with WSJ magazine in March, that she is still trying hard to cope with her sister’s death.

    “It’s just heartbreak. It’s only been 20 days,” Roberts said, with tears in her eyes. “There aren’t words to explain what any of us have been through in these last 20 days. It’s hour by hour some days, but you just keep looking ahead.”

    “You don’t want anything bad to happen to anyone, but there are so many tragic, painful, inexplicable things in the world. But [as with] any situation of challenge and despair, we must find a way, as a family,” she continued. “It’s so hard to formulate a sentence about it outside the weepy huddle of my family.”

    During the memorial service, surrounded by Motes’ close friends and family members, Roberts gave a brief speech about her sister. “No one was really expecting it, but Julia gave a little speech at one point during the ceremony,” a source told the Daily Mail. “She kept it brief, but it was absolutely heartfelt and very moving. It showed just how much Nancy meant to her and was really fitting.”

    There was one person missing from the service, however. Motes fiancé John Dilbeck revealed, via Twitter, that he was not invited to the intimate ceremony. “To my disappointment, I was not invited to attend the memorial services in Georgia, for my fiance #NancyMotes, Saturday May 3rd 2014Travesty,” Dilbeck tweeted.

    On Monday, Dilbeck talked to the New York Daily News, and described that lack of an invitation as devastating. “It’s devastating,” Dilbeck said. “I found out Sunday that they had the funeral service without me. They did it so there was no possible way I could attend. I believe that with all my heart. I should be allowed to pay my respects. She was the love of my life, and this would have been our wedding month. May 17 was our wedding date. I feel so empty, it’s like I have no more tears left to cry.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Rapper Benzino Shot By Nephew; Gai Scott Claims He Acted In Self-Defence

    Rapper and reality TV star Benzino was en route to his mother’s funeral when his nephew allegedly opened fire at him from another car. According to the police and Benzino’s own Hip-Hop Weekly magazine, the violent encounter happened along a Massachusetts highway on Saturday.

    In a statement released by the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, the 48-year-old record producer was driving a red SUV on Boston’s Route 3 before noon, when his 36-year-old nephew named Gai Scott pulled up next to Benzino’s vehicle and fired 7 to 8 shots. Benzino was headed for his mother, Mary A. Scott’s funeral Mass at St. Peter’s Church in Plymouth at the time of the shooting.

    Authorities say that the two family members are involved in a long-standing feud, despite Benzino’s claim that he has no idea why his nephew shot him.

    Hip-Hop Weekly reported that Benzino was hit on one arm and his back was grazed by one of the bullets. The magazine’s website featured photos of Benzino lying in his hospital bed and showing his bandaged left arm in a sling.

    After the shooting, Benzino – whose real name is Raymond Scott – got out of his vehicle and was brought to the Duxbury Police Department, after which he was admitted to SouthShoreHospital in South Weymouth. A representative of the hospital reported on Sunday that Benzino was in good condition.

    Police officers who responded to the scene spotted Benzino’s bullet hole-ridden red SUV in the middle of Route 3, and noticed a reddish substance that resembled blood inside the vehicle. Authorities added that they also found several shell casings and projectiles at the scene of the crime.

    Gai Scott was taken into police custody and slapped with assault charges with intent to murder. His arraignment is scheduled on Monday in the Plymouth District Court. Gai’s attorney Jon Ciraulo has entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf, and has also stated that his client’s shooting was an act of self-defense.

    Benzino has been discharged from the hospital, but the media has yet to get his comments regarding the assertions by his nephew’s camp. However, the elder Scott’s long-time attorney Martin K. Leppo responded on Benzino’s behalf by saying that the events that took place on the highway “doesn’t sound like self-defense” to him.

    A Boston native, Benzino is well known for his role in the reality television series, Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta as Karlie Redd’s on-and-off boyfriend. He is also a former co-owner of the hip-hop magazine The Source, and a founding member of the American rap group Made Men.

    Image via YouTube

  • L’Wren Scott Mourned by Family and Friends

    L’Wren Scott Mourned by Family and Friends

    Family and friends gathered for fashion designer and mogul L’Wren Scott’s funeral at a private service today.

    Mick Jagger was among the mourners who gave a eulogy for his late partner. Her brother Randy Bambrough and longtime friend Ellen Barkin also spoke words for Scott.

    Jagger’s daughter Karis read a poem and her half-sister Jade read Psalm 139. The rocker’s grandkids Mazie and Zak read the traditional Psalm 23.

    Scott’s niece, Randy’s daughter Hannah, read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18.

    The funeral was held in Los Angeles.

    The 49-year-old former model was found inside an apartment by her assistant. A law enforcement official said her assistant found her hanging from a doorknob shortly after L’Wren had sent a text to “come over.” Officials also said that no note was found and they don’t believe foul play was involved in her death.

    L’Wren was not only known for her incredible style, collecting a plethora of celebrity fans including Sarah Jessica Parker and Michelle Obama, she was also girlfriend to rock star Mick Jagger. The two had been dating since at least 2003.

    Jagger’s website currently has a stunning black and white photograph of the late Scott along with a sweet message written for all to read.

    “I am still struggling to understand how my lover and best friend could end her life in this tragic way.We spent many wonderful years together and had made a great life for ourselves. She had great presence and her talent was much admired, not least by me. I have been touched by the tributes that people have paid to her, and also the personal messages of support that I have received.I will never forget her, Mick.”

    Image Via YouTube

  • Soldier Flag Salute: An Instagram Photo Stirs Online Outrage

    Yet another Instagram photo has a U.S. military soldier under public scrutiny.

    Just last Wednesday February 19, a Madison, Wisconsin-based soldier from the 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment posted a rather disrespectful photo to her Instagram.

    The ‘comical’ photo, which was found on private Terry Harrison’s Instagram, was clearly taken at a “mock” funeral.

    The picture shows an empty flag-draped casket surrounded by a group of soldiers smiling and making playful gestures.

    The caption reads:

    “We put the FUN in funeral — your fearless honor guard from various states.”

    Following a stream of backlashes and threats, Harrison and several other National Guard members were suspended.

    Now, in recent news, another soldier from the 59th Quartermaster Company, 43rd Sustainment Brigade, at Fort Carson, Colo., posted a controversy photo on Wednesday under the handle name “sheffeynation.”  (image)

    Pfc. Tariqka Sheffey shared a “selfie” of her posted up in her vehicle and the caption indicated that the soldier was hiding from a routine flag salutation:

    This is me laying back in my car hiding so I don’t have to salute the 1700 flag, KEEP ALL YOUR ‘THATS SO DISRESPECTFUL/HOWRUDE/ETC.’ COMMENTS TO YOURSELF cuz, right now, IDGAFFFF.

    Angry servicemen and family members initially sent the photo to Army Times.

    According to the news company, the “online outrage has quickly turned to hate, with a torrent of abusive comments, racial slurs and threats being made against the young soldier.”

    On Tuesday, spokesman Dee McNutt of Fort Carson said that Sheffey is under investigation

    However, it appears that the original account was disabled and replaced with another one under the handle “teriqkasheffey.”

    The photo has already received over 300 comments to date.

    Recently, a commentator responded: “Hey miss, why not leave America and stand against if you really hate it that much? Why are you still in USA? And why join the force and stand with us instead of going in front of us and against us?”

    While another said: “As much as I can’t stand any disrespect towards our country, black, white, purple, orange…it doesn’t matter, but this account doesn’t seem legit to me. All these pictures got posted in a matter of 1 or 2 days. It seems that someone is taking this to a whole new level…”

    Some have questioned the authenticity of the new account.

    However, Sheffey’s nonchalant video response Tuesday clearly verifies that she’s a real person.

    “I seriously just want to say thank you to everybody who stood up to me today, like seriously,” she said in the video, according to Army Times. “That s— to me was not that serious. I am not a disrespectful soldier and I really appreciate you all.”

    Image via Youtube

  • Harley Burial: Deceased Man Rides Motorcycle As Last Wish

    “He’d done right by us all these years, and at least we could see he goes out the way he wanted to,” Pete Standley said in regards to the funeral of his deceased father, whose body was perfectly placed on top of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle inside a casket.

    Yes, you heard right.

    Billy Standley last request to his family was to bury him with one of the things that kept him young and adventurous over the years: his blue 1967 Electra Glide motorcycle.

    Dressed in a  black leather outfit with a white helmet and clear glasses, the 82-year-old lifeless rider would have been proud to know that he was finally granted what he wanted the most, “to ride off to heaven” in a big see-through box.

    The Ohio-native died from lung cancer and was laid to rest Friday 24 during an outside funeral procession.

    Prior to his death, Standley anticipated the thought of knowing that his family and friends would someday see him fixed on one of his most prized possessions.(image)

    An 18-year-long burial idea, which then manifested into an actual project, set in the garage of his home for five years.

    Standley’s two sons, Pete and Roy, helped build the Plexiglas casket made of wood and steel.

    His family said that he was very proud of his customized casket and used to show it off to visiting guests.

    “He was a quirky man,” daughter Dorothy Brown told Dayton Daily News. “But when it comes to us kids, he loved us, he raised us well and, of course, we wanted to help him.”

    Vernon Funeral Homes Inc. told the newspaper that although this is the company’s first extreme personalization, they were able to accommodate the dimensions of the grave to fit the size of the casket.

    However, this is not the first time the deceased has bid ‘farewell’ in-style, and quite frankly, it appears that personalized funerals are more common than before.

    The corpse of former Puerto Rican Boxer Christopher Rivera Amaro, who was murdered at 23, was standing straight up in a ring during a wake service Friday.

    Maybe TLC’s over-the-top theme show, “Best Funeral Ever,” is to blame for this unusual trend?

    OR…

    Maybe families rather remember the fondest characteristics and moments of their loved ones by exhibiting them as they were alive?

    Here is a list by Urlesque.com detailing some of the most rare funerals and caskets.

    What are your thoughts?

    Images via Youtube

  • Nelson Mandela Buried In Hometown Of Qunu

    Nelson Mandela Buried In Hometown Of Qunu

    Nelson Mandela, fondly known as Madiba, became South Africa’s first black president in 1994. He was buried on Sunday in his childhood village of Qunu in Eastern Cape province.

    His burial concluded 10 days of  mourning that followed his death on Dec. 5 at the age of 95. He received a state burial characterized by a traditional ceremony and a 21-gun salute. Military helicopters also flew by the burial ceremony carrying the national flag.

    “A great tree has fallen, he is now going home to rest with his forefathers,” said Ngangomhlaba Matanzima, a representative of Mandela’s family. “We thank them for lending us such an icon.” South African’s were bidding farewell to their fallen hero for the last time; a man who had brought them freedom against all odds.

    Mandela’s portrait could be seen erected over a white marquee just behind a row of 95 candles representing his age at death. His casket was transported to a tent using a gun carriage, wrapped in the national flag and placed on a carpet made of cow skin.

    The ceremony attracted tens of thousands of mourners including friends, relatives, heads of state, and South African citizens among others. The eyes of Graca Machel, Mandela’s widow, were covered with a handkerchief for much of the ceremony.

    For those who could not access the burial ceremony venue, big screens were placed in the area to broadcast the event live, including one screen that was placed on a hill in Qunu.

    Mandela’s tenacious fight for freedom from the yolks of apartheid earned him 27 years in prison. He was instrumental in helping to end South Africa’s racial segregation. Mandela died a hero and an icon of  civil rights and the struggle against apartheid.

    (main image via YouTube)

  • Breaking Bad’s Walter White Gets a Funeral [IMAGE]

    The endless fascination with Breaking Bad’s Walter White continues. The series finale aired three weeks ago, and since then, Walter White’s obituary was printed in a newspaper and Anthony Hopkins wrote an awesome fan letter to Bryan Cranston. A fake funeral and wake were held for the chemist over the weekend.

    By “fake funeral,” we only mean that there wasn’t a real body. And that it wasn’t for a real person. Otherwise, the funeral for Walter White had everything you would expect at a real funeral, including mourners dressed in black from head to toe. Not surprisingly, the fake funeral also sparked controversy.

    More than 200 fans of Walter White and Breaking Bad got to pay their final respects on Saturday at a charity event that brought out fans from all over and raised $17,000 for the homeless. A funeral procession was led by a hearse and a replica of Walter’s meth RV, and funeral goers congregated at Sunset Memorial Park cemetery to say goodbye.

    (image)

    Not only were programs handed out, there was a real casket, burial site and footstone at the funeral. Mourners also paid for handfuls of dirt to throw over Walt’s empty casket.

    (image)

    The funeral wasn’t endorsed by AMC or anyone else associated with the show. Originally, the funeral was supposed to be available via livestream, but that was axed because it violated copyright laws. No one from the show was there, but wouldn’t it have been a hoot if Bryan Cranston had showed up?

    Despite some controversy, the Walter White fake funeral had the support of local law enforcement officers. “When I was first contacted about this, I had to Google Walter White because I didn’t know who it was,” said Sheriff Dan Houston. “I’m still good with it because at the end of the day Albuquerque Health Care needs money to help these people and that’s really what this is about.”

    Some people were less than thrilled with the fake funeral at the cemetery and the burial site that has a Walter White footstone, which reads “Beloved Husband, Father, Teacher & Entrepreneur.”

    “My son is buried about 15 yards from where the makeshift gravesite is,” Manuel Montano said. “This is a place of mourning. It’s not a spectacle.” An online petition was started to remove the character grave from Sunset Memorial Park, which currently has over 600 signatures.

    Do you think the Walter White gravesite is disrespectful? Respond below. Some Twitter users certainly didn’t mince words over their opinion of the Walter White funeral.

    [Images via YouTube and ABQ Journal]

  • Erich Priebke: Nazi Criminal, Funeral Sparks Protest

    Erich Priebke, a German Nazi war criminal, died last week. His body was being transported in order to hold a funeral for him, and was forced to be called off, due to the amount of controversy that surrounds the case. He recently died under house arrest, while serving a life sentence for the killing of more than 300 civilians. He was living out his sentence in Italy.

    He was involved in very serious crimes, and many people were offended by his funeral taking place. There was a funeral planned for him in Albano Laziale, south of Rome, but it was called off on Tuesday. His body has already been denied by both Argentina, where he lived for nearly 50 years before being relocated to Italy, and his hometown in Germany.

    Priebke was one of the SS officers who were in charge of overseeing the killing of men and boys at Rome’s Ardeatine Caves in 1944. The event has been viewed as one of the worst massacres in Italy during World War II. The attack was a retaliation which resulted in Nazi forces killing 335 civilians, avenging an attack by resistance fighters that killed 33 members of a Nazi military police unit a day earlier.

    Before his death, he admitted to shooting two people and rounding up victims, but like much of the other Nazis at the time, he claimed to have been simply following orders. He also never expressed any remorse for the victims or the crimes he committed.

    The Vatican had issued an unprecedented ban on holding the funeral in any Catholic church in Rome, but the Society of St Pius X offered to hold the ceremony. The Society of St. Pius X likely agreed to do the ceremony in order to further distance themselves from the Vatican. When his coffin was being transported, protesters all around began chanting things like “murderer” and “executioner.”

    Erich Priebke’s lawyer, Paolo Giachini, said that the ceremony had been stopped because the authorities had prevented friends and family entering, while Giuseppe Pecoraro, a senior official in the province asserted that “We had to cancel the funeral yesterday because there was a risk that it could have become a neo-Nazi demonstration.”

    He was 100 years old when he died.

    Image via Youtube

  • Wrong Woman Buried in Mortuary Mishap

    The local CBS station in Los Angeles is reporting the bizarre story of a California family that buried the wrong woman after a mortuary mixed up two bodies.

    Though the incident echoes a scene from the movie Death at a Funeral, members of the woman’s family were not laughing at the mix-up.

    The report states that after complaints were raised at a viewing about the identity of the woman in the coffin, mortuary workers told the family of Darlene Davidson that the woman was, in fact, Davidson. They were convincing enough that the woman was buried as scheduled in a dress of Davidson’s. The family was contacted later and told that their mother’s body had not yet been buried.

    A mortuary spokesperson told CBS that the mix-up was a mistake and apologized for the mishap. The Cemetery and Funeral Bureau of the California Department of Consumer Affairs is now investigating the incident.

  • Meet Stony, The Robot Who Mourns So You Don’t Have To

    Meet Stony, The Robot Who Mourns So You Don’t Have To

    Having a loved one die on you is pretty much the worst thing imaginable. A close second would be the mourning period that some religions dictate must take place after the loved one has been buried. I would prefer to move on with my life and forget the pain, but some people just don’t have that option. If only there was an easier way.

    Well, there is a much easier way. The only catch is that this easy way only pertains to the Jewish faith. You see, the mourning ritual in Judaism lasts for 30 days after burial. During the first seven days, the mourner must tear their clothes and wear them every day as a sign of mourning. After that, a series of events occur from preparing meals to reciting prayers.

    Unfortunately, the robot can’t do any of that. The clothes tearing and meal preparation still falls on the actual people involved. What the robot can do is take care of the grave of the recently deceased. grave care is immensely important in many cultures, with Judaism being of them. The robot will patrol the grave and clean it with water. It will also lay stones and flowers on the headstone.

    The robot itself was built using a simple Roomba, the vacuum cleaner robot. The inventors, Itamar Shimshony and Zvika Markfeld, added a number of features to the Roomba including a robotic arm, water pump and an ultrasonic proximity sensor.

    The team originally was going add a video projector to the robot. It would shine video onto the tombstone. They also wanted to make the robot gradually lose its “mind” so that it would begin to run around in circles or placing stones in random places. The ideas never panned out, but it might be up for a later reboot.

    Stony is just a simple concept at this phase. As robotics become more diverse, we can expect to see them fulfilling this kind of role more often. People generally don’t want anything to do with the dead and leave the dirty work in the hands of somebody else. Who better to take care of the dead than a robot?

    [h/t: Make]

  • Whitney Houston Funeral Closed To Public

    Whitney Houston will be honored friday at noon in a funeral service at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. Houston was found dead in her Beverly Hills hotel room Saturday afternoon. Officials are still waiting on toxicology reports to determine the cause of her death, but many believe it could have been the result of an interaction between drugs and alcohol in her system. She was found unconscious in her bath tub and it is possible that she became unconscious, slipped under the water, and drowned.

    Alan Jacobs, who was head of security for Houston for nearly a decade, was interviewed by Good Morning America today and he revealed some interest details about the pop singers life. When asked about her drug abuse, he claims that he never saw her use anything, but that he did see some traumatic effects as a result of use:

    “The reality of it is, that you can protect someone from everything, but you cannot protect them from themselves,”

    “Whatever was going on, was not something that was in control, and certainly was something I felt needed to be addressed. so I took action to address it. I eliminated access to her by certain people that I thought were negative influences.”

    Jacobs reports that he tried to speak to Whitney about her drug abuse and he also spoke to her husband, Bobby Brown to warn him, but it was not welcome concern from either party. He explains:

    “I said, ‘you hired me to do a job, to protect you … but I cannot protect you from yourselves.’ I took a stand and it was about four months later that we decided to part company,”

    “It would seem that a closer eye might have been kept, but there again there’s an old saying that the boss may not always be right, but the boss is always the boss.”

    Her service at the New Hope Baptist Church will be attended by invitation only, but there are plans for a larger service to be held at the New Jersey’s Prudential Center which could accommodate as many as 20,000 guests. Nothing has been announced yet but we will be following the story.

  • UK Crematorium Broadcasting Funerals Online

    Have you ever wanted to watch a funeral from the comfort of you own home? A crematorium in the UK is now making that possible.

    The Mirror is reporting that Burnley Crematorium is spending £25,000 to add the ability for them to broadcast funerals live over the Internet. They will also be installing a big screen and state-of-the-art music system for those who have to sit outside of the chapel.

    The new sound system will allow relatives to choose from thousands of songs. The minister will then control the music through a touch screen and the words can be displayed on a nearby screen.

    The improvements will begin later this year with a council spokesman saying that people will be able to register to view a stream on the service from anywhere in the world.

    “It would mean the proverbial Great Aunt Mabel who emigrated to Australia would be able to view in real time the service for a relative back in Burnley. All they’ll need is a password,” the council spokesman said.

    Councilor Jeff Sumner said that it would be an optional service with the recording only being available to family and friends behind a password protected Web page.