It shouldn’t surprise you to learn that there are a lot of weird people in this world.
And if you want Exhibit A (and B and C and so on), all you have to do is watch a single episode of Tiger King on Netflix. Because yikes.
You might think, though, that the passing of a loved one is such a somber occasion that most people treat it as such, choosing to send their family and friends off in quiet dignity.
As these 17 funeral directors are about to reveal, well…you’d be wrong.
17. It’s the one thing he wouldn’t want to be without.
Not ridiculous so much as weird from the outside, my grandfather was buried with a folded up bunch of paper towels stuffed up his sleeve.
He was one of those guys who always had something for spills and runny noses, and he always, always had paper towels or tissues with him. Turns out he had started keeping them in his sleeves when he was younger just in case he ever needed them, and with 5 kids and 11 grandkids he always needed them.
When he died his sons decided it would be very fitting if he had some paper towels with him, so that’s how he was during his viewing and service.
16. Gotta wear those new shoes, Nan.
Shortly before my nan passed away she emailed me a picture of her new sandals she bought.
She got two pairs in two different colours so the picture was her with one of each on. It was only fitting that we dressed her in those.
She’d laugh if she knew.
15. She knew what she wanted to look like!
Fancy nightdress and matching robe.
This 70+ year old lady (or maybe it was her husband’s preference) wanted to be buried in this glamorous vintage night dress set that you would see in an old movie. It had feather accents and matching kitten heel slipper things. She also was buried in her costume jewelry. Her regular hairdresser came in to do her hair and cried the entire time. I think she had been sick for a while so the nightdress fit loosely so we used double sided tape and a few simple stitches to the nightdress to try to keep everything where it should go.
It was a weird request but I thought it was interesting. And, to the staff’s surprise, her family seemed to expect this as something totally normal.
Pretty cool.
14. This is just the sweetest thing.
My great aunt wanted to be buried in her bathrobe. Her stepchildren honored it.
To be fair though, she wanted her clothes to be donated to a homeless shelter she volunteered at and her jewelry to go to her kids. She wanted to be buried in her comfy bathrobe since it would cover her and not take too much away from what others may need. Most of the residents of the homeless shelter attended her funeral, more than half wearing an article of her former clothing.
13. It’s nice to think about all of the people who will come after us.
I buried my late husband in a Superman t shirt and his favorite camo pants and boots. He wore his camos when he went to chemotherapy – he called them his battle pants.
I put in a poker chip from one of his mates, his Blackberry and a toy from our daughter. I always wonder what the archaeologists would make of it if he was ever exhumed.
12. A woman after my own heart.
My grandma wanted to be buried in powder blue PJs because she “wanted to be comfortable.”
So that’s exactly what we did and she looked great.
11. I’m not crying, YOU’RE crying.
Slightly off-topic, but my grandpa passed away last week and we had his visitation/funeral on Thursday/Friday. At the funeral home, the director asked when the last time he’d worn a suit was – we said it was probably for my grandma’s funeral 6 months earlier.
Apparently there were cookies in the pocket of the pants! Completely appropriate, given my grandpa was a child at heart who loved ice cream, cookies, and candy. We left the cookies in there.
10. This is a classic clown move.
my great grandmother worked as a clown. like she attended a clown college and everything.
She loved her job very much. she was buried dressed as a clown, with the makeup and everything.
9. I’m sure she would have liked that.
My mom was an avid bridge (card game) player.
Our sweet funeral director researched a good winning hand in bridge. Mom was cremated holding her “winning” hand.
8. She did what she loved until the end.
My great aunt was buried in her “100 Jazzercize Classes Taken” T-shirt.
She was super fucking proud of it, so it was fitting. Love that woman.
7. She obviously knew him best.
My Dad was a firefighter- he died of lung cancer when I was 21.
We decided to cremate him in his formal uniform, but my Mom came out in front of our house full of family and friends with his large collection of super hero boxers and said “The Flash or The Hulk?”
It was a really great moment to lighten the mood and brought his goofier side right back to life (We chose the Flash by the way).
6. I mean, that’s what he wanted.
In my grandpa’s case the outfit was his birthday suit and a treasured blanket.
When my grandpa died a few years ago, it was his wish that he be buried naked and wrapped in his favorite blanket; a blanket that my grandma hand made for him decades ago.
Thankfully the funeral home was very understanding of his wishes and had him in the casket naked with the blanket around him for his viewing and subsequent burial.
5. You know…just in case.
The Walking Dead t-shirt.
Family had a great sense of humor!!
4. You need the necessities. Just as the Egyptians.
We put a bottle of Imodium in my dad’s pocket just in case he got the shits in the afterlife.
Funeral Director thought we were bonkers.
3. She finally got rid of that shirt, though.
Not a funeral home worker but when my Dad died we sent his favorite Crocs for his feet.
They were Ohio State University merch, and he often wore them to church to preach in. Yes you read that right, my dad was a pastor who preached in Ohio State University Crocs. He also had a HIDEOUS shirt that my mom tucked into the casket with him. My mom had tried to get rid of it several times but my dad had a sixth sense and always rescued it from the donation pile. She didn’t bury him in it because it didn’t fit him anymore, but she let him take it with him.
2. This is my own personal nightmare but okay.
My husband’s uncle was a very famous clown.
Although he wasn’t buried in his clown suit, clowns from across the tri-state area came in dress to pay their respects. It was the strangest but most beautiful thing I ever seen. There was probably over 100 clowns at his funeral.
1. He’s just thinking of humanity!
It’s one of my requests to have my shoes tied together when I’m buried.
If my corpse ends up coming back to zombie terrorize society, I want people to have every advantage against my reanimated remains.
I am dying, y’all. Not literally, thank goodness, but I still think I’ll update my will to include the outfit of my choice!
Do you know what you want to be buried in? Has anyone in your life made an unusual last wardrobe choice?
If so, I definitely want to hear about it in the comments!
