In many people's minds, a funeral is a place of tranquility and composure. At least when they think about a traditional funeral. Bur more and more people are choosing to have non-traditional funerals.

Bath University sociologists found that people who've chosen to cremate their family members and have a celebration-of-life service instead of a traditional funeral feel more in control of their grieving process.

Traditional or not, people should still grieve appropriately and treat the whole ordeal with respect. Sadly, that's not the case for every funeral. Many people shared their stories of end-of-life service mishaps when one netizen asked: "What's the craziest or strangest thing you've ever experienced or witnessed at a funeral?"

Check out the most inappropriate and hilarious stories below!

#1

My mother switched her wedding ring with my dad’s ring while he was in the casket.

Image credits: Velvet_EmmaX

#2

The lady who convinced my mother to ditch chemo and use essential oils, handed out biz cards at her funeral.

Image credits: Thernuk

#3

My brother committed [self-harm]. At his funeral we had a receiving line so people can say their condolences to his widow and family. Some old guy who may have been an acquaintance of my dad, walked up to my brother's wife and just said, "So how did he do it?".

Image credits: UberSox

#4

Not really at the funeral, but my neighbor put her husbands dogs ashes in his coffin, labeled Colonel’s medals. The dog got buried with full military honors at Arlington Cemetery.

Image credits: amboomernotkaren

#5

At my Grandpa’s funeral, my grandparents’ friend tried to sign me up to sell Mary Kay under her while I was crying beside his grave.

At the same funeral, the preacher giving the eulogy talked about whether or not my Grandpa spanked his kids enough. He said “Daddy was a hard man, but was he hard enough? Did he spare the rod too many times?” And then mentioned my dad and his sisters by name and said they should ask themselves that question when they think of their Dad. We were all like, WTF.

Image credits: MarlenaEvans

#6

Someone trying to “quietly” open a can while they were doing the closing prayer.

Image credits: Dreamy_queenX

#7

The female relative who came to the visitation straight off of a day on the lake – wearing her bikini top, jean shorts, and flip flops.

Image credits: LunarRainbow26

#8

My grandmother's funeral was out in the country. Rolling fields, a few trees here and there. As the service goes on, I see a dog, trotting through the field next to the cemetery. It's a long distance, and the dog just lopes along, while a rather boring preacher droned on and on. I'd glance to the coffin, then back at the dog, it barely seemed to get closer. I notice everyone facing that direction is now watching the dog. It just keeps trotting closer. It slips under the cemetery fence, and now crosses grave after grave until he is only a few feet away. everyone is watching it intently as it walks up to the casket, sniffs, and lifts it leg to pee on my grandmother. Suddenly every single person, in unison, leaned forward, some shaking hands and arms and made a squeal or a shout or yelled at the dog. it looked surprised and ran away.

We all started laughing.

Image credits: TeachOfTheYear

#9

My niece walking up to fathers coffin and tweaking his nose.

Image credits: PattiiB

#10

My sister looked a lot like my grandmother.

My grandmother had a style, heels, a cigarette holder, wig, dress, pearls.

My father (not always appropriate) whispers in sister’s ear, “Why don’t you go in her closet and come out dressed like your grandmother?”

10 minutes later, we hear the click of the heels, the smell of a cigarette in a long holder, and a spot on n imitation of her voice.

My aunt, uncle, cousins all thought she was a ghost.

Image credits: BMcCJ

#11

At my cousins funeral, one of my relatives literally tried jumping in the casket with him. Really traumatizing experience I might add.

Image credits: Lovely-Bunnyi

#12

My family owns a funeral home. Years ago, you had to use records to play music at funerals. of course, when there were no funerals, and people were just cleaning up, etc., they would play other records.

My grandfather had a funeral going on, and told his father to just play the record that was on the turntable, because he had set it up the day before.

Unfortunately, someone had changed it. It was the song “Give me five minutes more.”

Hysterical now, evidently not so hysterical at the time.

Image credits: RareBeautyOnEtsy

#13

I (thankfully) don’t remember it, but when I was 2, one of my drunken aunts put me in the coffin with my dead mom and made me kiss her.

Image credits: SuzieRabbit

#14

At an open casket wake, a friend of the deceased attempted to give her a drink of single malt whiskey. She ended up being forcibly removed as she wouldn’t stop and spilled a lot of the alcohol in the casket. It was as horrible and inappropriate as it was heartbreaking – for everyone.

Image credits: Radiant_Julyia

#15

Several giggling ladies singing, “Spam, spam, spam” from Monty Python just under their breath when the pastor got boring. Several pews were laughing.

It was a song the deceased would sometimes sing. It was funny.

Image credits: NaturalFLNative

#16

Probably me and my brothers not realizing we were supposed to open my moms ashes box and release them, so instead we awkwardly dropped her entire box in the river like a bath bomb.

Image credits: MysticMitts

#17

Went to my granduncle’s funeral in Ireland as a ten year old boy. turned out he was a hero in the IRA back in the day, and six masked IRA guys emerged and fired shots with automatic rifles over the grave. best funeral ever.

Image credits: galwegian

#18

Strangest and most infuriating was listening to the preacher giving the eulogy and talk about how my friend was in Hell because she committed [self-harm], and how we're "not supposed to worry about that now".

Image credits: Heisenblah

#19

My cousin died of a heart attack aged late 20’s/early 30’s.

Her father walked up to the casket at the funeral and as he was just about to reach it, he jolted backwards and fell over. Heart attack. His pacemaker worked and he was up and about again in about 2 minutes.

For about 60 seconds, all hell broke loose. Women crying, screaming, chaos. There were about 100-150 people just finding their seats when it happened.

He was actually joking about 3 minutes after, saying his rhythm was ‘off’, and felt s****y for the few days prior, the pacemaker set his rhythm properly again and except for the punch in the chest from the pacemaker, actually felt much better than he did previously!

It was seriously a ‘movie’ moment – one of the most surreal experiences I’ve ever had.

Image credits: lifeofwatto

#20

You wont believe me but someone's phone went off with the ringtone "Staying Alive".

innosins:
At my Grandma's funeral, someone had Linkin Park's 'In The End' as their ringtone.

Image credits: Tiobrock

#21

At my grandmother’s funeral because I was more familiar with the idea of releasing the ashes. She, however, was in an elaborate urn that was to be buried, so that really should’ve tipped me off. As they were digging the hole, I (while surrounded by several much more applicable persons) was inexplicably handed the urn. Once the hole was ready I was told to bring it forth, and as I made my way up there, in a haze of grief and nerves, tried to pry that bad boy open. I’m so relieved today at how well-sealed it was.

Image credits: Robius

#22

Uncle’s funeral. He passed away at age 62. His crazy ex-girlfriend from 20 years ago was drunk and shouting “it was your baby!”

I knew it was her because she did the same at my wedding reception before passing out in the bushes behind the building.

Image credits: LunaAngelina

#23

The corpse farted. The family of the deceased were religious and were against embalming. Decomposing bodies produce gas, and it has to go somewhere. Your gut bacteria don’t die when you do. They begin digesting YOU since your body stops producing the mucous and stuff that protects your stomach and intestinal lining. Well, all of that culminated in the loudest, most foul smelling bodily emission ever witnessed by man. Several people were puking, many on the verge of puking. People were running for the exit. This was at a tiny church that was basically a house with extra seating in the living room. Think the worst fart you’ve ever smelled intermingled with the smell of decaying flesh. It was so bad. I think it’s the only time I have ever been envious of a corpse. Lucky bastard couldn’t smell a thing.

Image credits: zorggalacticus

#24

Not super inappropriate, but my grandfather was always a trickster. He had a great sense of humor. He had this little song he would sing to me, my siblings, and my little cousins where he would just repeat the words “poo poopy doo” over and over. At his funeral, my aunt was telling stories about him and in the middle of her telling a story, my 6 year old cousin screamed “POO POOPY DOO” in front of 50 people. Needless to say it lightened the mood a little bit and made everyone a little happier remembering him in a good way.

Image credits: Lavenderdream1OX

#25

We took my FIL ashes in a plane piloted by my BIL. This was all illegal but we did it. When my wife through the ashes out of the front window 1/2 of them ended up on my face.

Image credits: lespaulstrat2

#26

Not super peculiar or strange but my stomach growled so loud during my grandpas funeral, DURING THE FINAL PRAYER, that the Karen next to me gave me a disgusted look. Super embarrassing but makes me laugh now. Pretty sure grandpa would’ve laughed too lol.

Image credits: Z_Bunny__

#27

My brother in laws girlfriend locked her self in a car, cried and screamed threatening to kill herself.. AT my father in laws funeral. She was fine five minutes later and explained to my in law she did it because she’s not used to not having all the attention (she thought her being pregnant would make people forget that the father died?).

Image credits: SweetFluffyPrincesx

#28

My friends dad died, and we were in the back of the altar. i looked up and saw his literal father standing next to me. i did not know until later that his father had a twin.

Image credits: shayjaye

#29

I *Caused* one. I was a photographer, a model I knew got this really long white dress with this shoulder attached train/cape thingy. She wanted to get pictures of it, and there was a large hill nearby, so I would be lower down shooting upward she would be in sparkly white flowing dress on the crest of the hill catching the wind and light. She is posing, things are going well. She looks down the other side of the hill (the hill was a drumlin, so kind of knife like at the peak). She suddenly comes running down the hill “We need to go, NOW”.

So, on the other side of the hill was a cemetery, and there was a service going on. They looked up and saw this ghostly woman on the hilltop. Started gasping and pointing. Yeah. That was one of four times I caused issues with the public doing photography shenanigans,.

#30

My mom isn’t a native English speaker. Nor is she one to think too hard. She organized her FIL’s “celebration of life” and thought it was suppose to be an actual celebration… like a party. So, she hired a DJ and had him play fun music. She even tried to get people to dance with her. My teenage a*s didn’t have the heart to tell her how inappropriate it was. I had hoped all of the non-participating, frowny-faced, white people would have given her a clue.

#31

My (now ex) mother-in-law decided to wear 3 inch heels to the gravesite. It had rained for a week before. She’s a tiny woman but those heels sank right down and she got stuck.

#32

The funereal home being asked to give my mom Light red lipstick and gave her clown grade.

#33

I saw several woman faint, and the wife threw herself on the coffin in the funeral home and sang a song in Spanish. She was carried out.

#34

At my husband’s funeral, they were folding the flag over his casket, and one of the guys were bragging about how good he was, never dropped a flag, and always perfect creases on and on. As the corners came together, he caught it on the casket, ripped the flag, it hit the ground.
Someone behind me said, “That was xxx (husband’s name) telling you to humble yourself because we are all tired of hearing how perfect you are.” Everyone looked at me, and I just smiled because that was my husband to a T!

#35

During my grand-uncle’s funeral, an elderly cousin rose out of the pew, tore the entire family a new r****m, and promptly had a heart attack and needed an ambulance called to the funeral home (they died a month later).

Or the time, during my grandfather’s funeral, when the preacher chose that time to politic and attack women and gay couples…there were several gay family members in attendance. The deceased was my grandfather on my mother’s side (meaning my grandfather’s daughter, which the preacher, despite mentioning my uncles, failed to mention or acknowledge my mother, her family, and accomplishments). My grandfather was a very, ‘God created and loves everyone,’ and a ‘church and state are separate for reason,’ type person. That service didn’t go over well.

Image credits: Chevross

#36

Some b***h who had never even met the deceased (her boyfriend’s former boss) couldn’t stop bawling when literally not even the family was crying. and that b***h was me.

#37

Back in the 70’s, my grandpa used to entertain the neighborhood kids by burying twinkies in the ground and saying “let’s grow a twinkie plant”. At his funeral, all of us were given handfuls of twinkies to throw into the hole with him.

Also I had a friend who worked part time at a cemetery. He said it’s surprisingly common for pallbearers to drop the casket and / or slip in the hole.

#38

At my ex FILs funeral, the preacher who had known them both for years started going into how difficult it was for him to have lived with my late MIL, as she could be a contrary woman.

#39

At the funeral of my great-aunt Allene (pronounced al-een) apparently nobody thought to tell the guy delivering the service how to, you know, actually pronounce her name. He kept saying it “i-leen”. So we started giggling. Every cousin, every grand-niece and nephew, her brother. We couldn’t stop. We weren’t crying because of the beauty of the service…. we were crying trying to hold in the laughter.

#40

I have a list…this is all one funeral.

The deceased’s husband calmly stood up, walked to the casket, paused, and then threw himself on the floor, shouting, “I will be with you soon!” in the middle of the rosary.

One of his friends showed up in full Renaissance Faire garb.

They put her in the grave backward, then had to raise her to turn the casket around. They nearly dropped her, and her brothers had to assist the workers. His friend also helped. He did not.

After the burial, he and his friends had a very happy, loud photoshoot by a tree.

He showed up late to the wake, flopped down on the couch in the room everyone was gathered in, and slept for 4 hours.

#41

I saw a woman lean over the open casket and take a top down photo. It was just weird to my mom and I. We had never seen anyone take photos of the deceased.

#42

I once had to attend a funeral on behalf of my office. The college-aged child of one of our board members had committed [self-harm]. Coincidentally, the office had just recently told me they were eliminating my position but asked me to stay for a few extra weeks to wrap up some work. At that point I was the most expendable person to be sent off on a diplomatic mission. A colleague who I really hit it off with agreed to road trip down to the funeral (it was a couple of hours drive). We had such a blast on the drive down, talking and joking, that we found it really hard to adjust to the reality of the situation we were going into. And when we got to the closed casket service, we saw that they had a framed picture of the deceased in his football uniform, which instantly reminded us of the "I love my dead, gay son" scene in the movie Heathers. That set off the most inappropriate laughing fit in both of us that we were struggling to control. One would think we had smoked spliff on the way down there as the deep well of laugher just kept overflowing. It was all we could go to keep grabbing tissues to cover our faces to make like we were upset and crying. It was horrible. Our plan had been to show up for the wake, pay our respects, and then duck out before we got roped into attending the long, Catholic funeral mass. But my car got blocked in and when the procession began to pull out, I was afraid that all of the cars behind me would follow me if I turned the wrong way. So we kind of had to go to the church. The whole thing was like the lost episode of Seinfeld. If I already didn't know that I wouldn't be working in that office much longer, I would have been sure they would have fired me after that train wreck of a funeral appearance.

Image credits: cjboffoli

#43

Ok I can finally laugh about this now – Saw an obit for a Women I casually knew .
Got to the wake and looked in the casket -I had no idea who the deceased was . Talk about embarrassing! I was asked in the receiving line how I knew her . I had to make up something quick so I told her daughter- “From the factory – to which she replied -“My mother never worked in a factory “!
I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

#44

I’m usually the spectacle along with my sister. We get the nervous giggles. At one funeral the recorded music seemed to be coming out of the heating ducts and we pretty much lost it when “How Great (Grate) Thou Art” wafted through. Luckily we can laugh silently. But I was sitting next to my godmother and she thought I was upset and put her arm around me. Without thinking I said, “that’s OK, I’m laughing.”.

#45

My son was seven, I had prepped him on cremation during the car ride to the funeral home and explained why we were going to the visitation. So, we shuffle through the room, hug the family, and walk up to the urn. My son does his best “ta-daaaaa” pose, complete with jazz hands, and says “Here’s the ashes!” Thankfully, no one was outright angry and most just chuckled because kids are kids, but I was mortified at the time.

#46

My sister called my grandma white trash at my grandpas memorial service for marrying her sisters (our great aunts) ex… they went on 1 date and it’s way trashier to insult a mourning widow to her face.

#47

They used youtube to play one of the woman’s favorite songs with lyrics on a projector. Just after starting the song, YouTube started an ad that showed a woman straining on the toilet and it was not skippable. Everyone busted up laughing. The woman’s husband said she would have found it funny, too.

#48

I can’t remember how old I was.. maybe 9? My grandfather passed and bc I wasn’t allowed to go to my grandmother’s funeral years before because I was considered too young to be there for that, I insisted I speak at his funeral. My mom agreed and I did pretty good but I’ve always wondered if it was inappropriate to bring up the time he threatened me with a butter knife because I tried to uphold my mom’s instructions to not let him have any hard candy.. for some reason why I don’t remember? I made it light-hearted, and I feel like I went about it the right way as I remember easy, light laughter, but I’ve always wondered was I out of line, distasteful?

#49

Went to the funeral for a friend’s wife, he brought his new girlfriend who he “just met” to the funeral.

#50

Cars following too close heading to the cemetery, 3 just in front of us rear ended each other, at least one broken arm. At the end of the ceremony there was a loud noise from a clear sky, sounded like dry leaves being blown around. Everyone heard it. We all just looked at each other.

#51

My wife’s maternal grandfather died and had a church funeral. The Vicar gave a nice but somewhat generic eulogy, but it mentioned her grandfather often so it seemed personal. About three months later, my wife’s material grandmother died and also had a church funeral. The same Vicar gave the exact same eulogy and didn’t even bother to change it at all, he mentioned her grandfather again throughout but never her grandmother at her grandmother’s own funeral. I don’t know if the Vicar was senile or just lazy, but my wife was beyond appalled.

#52

A friend's son committed [self-harm]. At his service, the son's best friend went to the podium to say a few words. He mumbled a bit then held a briefcase up over his head, yelled "I finally got you! This funeral is the bomb!" and threw the case on the floor.

Mass panic ensued. It's a miracle nobody was hurt as the entire place emptied out in seconds.

#53

My grandma who is very young and not even close to senile decided it was appropriate to sing the Meow Mix theme at my great uncle’s funeral. The whole entire song. My great uncle hoarded cats, dead and alive. Along with their urine.
It was a weird day.

#54

You guys won’t believe me but idgaf. My dad passed when I was 26. At his funeral, a 30-something-year-old man walked up to me and very unceremoniously, almost smugly, told me that my dad was also his dad. I quickly excused myself from this f****d up situation.

Fast forward ~2hrs to the reception. There’s a weird guy, maybe in his early 30’s, in my house who just kind of showed up with the crowd. I ask him who he is. Choking back tears, he tells me that My Dad’s Name was his father but he “hadn’t seen him since he was a kid”. I ask him if he knows the guy from earlier, thinking in a panic that maybe my dad had a secret second family. He has no idea what the hell I’m talking about. I tell him to please enjoy my liquor cabinet, I don’t have the mental energy for this.

I never spoke to either of these men again, don’t know their full names or contact info, have never mentioned any of this to a single soul, but apparently I have half siblings running around out here.

#55

At grandma’s funeral, one of my aunts came and fell to the floor, when she got up, she said “s**t i almost die too”..

People around her started laughing histerically, and then went back to crying lol.

#56

After the funeral, my parents had a double urn. Dad’s ashes I guess were stored until Mom died.

So there they both were united in death in a double urn n at the front of the church. They were very close, pretty moving funeral.I was the one taking it home, interment later ( another story).

Car *flies* up our lane in a cloud of dust. Funeral home guy gets out with wooden ern- it’s Dad’s ashes. I guess someone called ” Er, wasn’t this guy supposed to be in a double urn? “

Transferred ashes right there in our driveway with a funnel. Poor guy was *really* upset and kept apologizing while dust Dad flew around although most of him went in there.

I don’t think funeral guy believed me when we laughed SO hard, told him no, no one’s angry. Dad would have gotten a giant kick out of being misplaced at his own funeral too.

#57

At my grandmas funeral my husband and I asked the owner of the funeral home if we could use their restroom (Use it separately obvs). He looked at me annoyed/confused and said, “I guess, but we built the restroom before there were equal rights”.
He was an old white man from a very rural Midwest town. I’m a white woman and my husband is from Mexico. Apparently he never planned to let women or POC use the bathroom??
Bizarre

Also the number of old white people who told my husband, “you must be so cold!” Bc we were in the midwest during the winter and he has brown skin. Lol those people were too much.

#58

A childhood friend OD’ed at Christmas – there was a musical montage at the start of the funeral, which included a state school fight song followed by the Star Spangled Banner, to which someone in the front shouted “alright goddammit play ball!!!” after the song wrapped – it was his Dad. ?

The deceased had a chalky appearance (open casket) & there was a Joker playing card placed above his heart. Weirdest funeral I’ve been to, & I’ve been to more than most (large Deep Southern family).

#59

Neighbor passed away. Went to his funeral. As the hearse pulled away from the funeral home towards the grave, the guys sister screamed and cried and chased the hearse while pounding the rear window. She was a huge (tall and built) Caribbean lady and needed to be restrained by 4 people. I was there with my other neighbor and we couldn’t believe it.

#60

My grandfather was a sailor and his dying wish was that his ashes would be scattered on the winds in the sea.

Another thing to know about my grandfather was that he was a jokester.

So there we were on the beach in the middle of the winter, my mom was wearing this very long heavy jacket. As we are scattering his ashes out of nowhere this huge wave comes up and sweeps my mom, my grandma and my sister nearly into the sea. As we try to get them up, another wave comes up and wets the rest of us. But my mom took the grunt because her jacket became heavy with water, she was not amused.

I swear my grandfather was there and was probably laughing his a*s off.

We were miserable at that time, but now remember it as grandpa’s last joke on us.

#61

It was very surreal, but at Grandpa’s funeral, when I got there, everyone was chitchatting, people paying their respects. Open casket. Little by little people noticed me. I’ve always been like a wallflower in the spotlight with the family if that makes sense.

Chattering turned to whispers, whispers to silent as I walked to the doors of the chapel of the funeral home. People stepped back, walked out of the chapel, and I walked in and up to Grandpa’s casket. Completely alone, everything and everyone was completely silent. Everyone watching from the doorway. It didn’t occur to me until later when someone asked why everyone did that. Family friend said “don’t know, it just felt right. She was the apple of his eye. She deserves it I guess?”

Super surreal. It wasn’t until I walked back out like 5 minutes after my time with Grandpa someone hugged me, someone squeezed my shoulder, people asked how I was holding on.
Seemed more people, family included, were more focused on me than my dad and aunts and uncles and other grandkids.

#62

Hmm – my dad’s funeral. God I have never forgotten. (Scenario – open coffin, etc. people walking around) I walked up, scared as I was to see my dad ..in a casket. I was a kid. I had elder sibs around me. I was just looking at the flower arrangements walking around. I heard a huge breath – sigh – that came from my dad’s coffin. I stopped in my tracks and looked at Dad and was stunned. My brother came to me a few moments later noticing that something was off. I asked him – did you hear that? No, what? Nevermind.

Sorry not funny like the ones I’ve been reading. Some of these are way too funny!

#63

My Uncle, a really great guy, passed away one summer. Huge family turnout for the Catholic funeral mass. My father was executor, and handled all the details of the burial & mass. My Uncle requested in his paperwork that his remains be cremated, no viewing, just a mass and last rites at the grave. At that time, you weren’t allowed to be cremated and have a mass of Christian burial…

My father followed his wishes, but failed to inform (or purposely didn’t tell) the Church – or our relatives – of the arrangement. This included my *mother*, who was my Uncle’s youngest sister. Never got to ask him why he didn’t say anything. But he and my Uncle were practical jokers, and tight as ticks; so I think he was going to make it happen regardless of the consequences.

Day of the mass at the Church, my mother told me and my brother to go to the hearse and be pall-bearers with some other cousins. The driver and assistant said they didn’t need any of us, and to wait at the Church entrance. Brother and I stared at each other – what were these guys gonna do; lift the casket themselves? Then they opened the rear door of the hearse, and… there he was. No casket, no box, no urn; just a compressed brick of ash and (I assume) some binding cement. Like a solid, rectangular cinder block.

Too much went on after that for me to detail here. Suffice it to say there was loud discussions that day, Traditional Catholic relatives made a scene in the parking lot; other not so traditional ones laughed uncontrollably, and my mother was staring holes through my father (she was pissed at him for at least two months.) The priest was actually the coolest head there that day; he allowed the ceremony to go on; and even brought the remains into the Church as if it were in a traditional casket.

Everybody – angry or not – still went to the restaurant for the reception; my family *never* passes up a free meal. More loud discussions and accusations. Lots of stories about my Uncle and his brothers and sisters. Many children driving their drunk parents home. But nobody was crying. From the moment his remains were taken out of the back of the hearse to the end of the reception; no one cried. And a lot of people were laughing.

Craziest funeral I’ve ever attended.

#64

My cousin passed away some years back. He was blind and had a ton of friends, many also blind. When we sung the hymns the guide dogs present howled / bayed along, it was so beautiful.

At the wake I also saw a guide dog veeeery carefully eat a sausage roll off the table right in front of his blind owner. I laughed and the dog whipped his head around to look at me, like ‘oh s**t you can see me?’.

#65

At my brother’s funeral graveside service right before the preacher prayed and they would lower the casket into the ground….

His son says very loud so all could hear. “For anybody that knew my dad…give me a big “HELL YEA”

And he got a couple “HELL YEA’s”

During the same funeral my sister was on the phone calling a tow truck to pull my nephews truck out of a ditch the he ran into as he parked at the graveside service.

There is more but this is enough for now.

#66

At my mom’s funeral which my dad only agreed to because her sisters were being a******s about my agnostic mother not having a proper funeral one of them walked up to me and said “Aren’t you so sad you never had kids and gave your mom a grandbaby.” Had to bite my tongue to keep from saying yeah so sad my stillborn daughter and eight miscarriages didnt give mom a grandchild.

#67

Not super crazy but I watched four people pushing a hearse through the cemetery to the cathedral because the engine broke down on the way to the funeral.

I also didn’t realize until after the funeral that my car had a big sticker on the back that said “BUT DID YOU DIE?”.

#68

My brother set up a tripod and camera at grandpa’s funeral to record himself. He went up to make a speech, and tried to weave in everything possible about my grandfather being Christian. And of course his relationship was the closest of anyone in the family (not true). 
Then he went on a tirade about “muslims” and how my grandfather hated them.  100% false.  My grandfather didn’t give a damn what anyone’s religion, race, culture etc. He had several friends that were Muslim, Jewish, not religious etc.  It was so f*****g offensive to try and assign hatred to such a great man. It took everything I had not to get up and stop him, but my family is so toxic they would have blamed me and thrown a fit for the next 5 years (no joke).  .

#69

I’m a minister so I’ve had my share of awkward funeral experiences. A few come to mind…

At one funeral, the only people that showed up were the wife and her two kids. They were very poor and originally from another state and the husband/father had a massive heart attack. I tried to preach it as if the place were full, but it was just a sad situation.

Another one was for a former d**g addict who’s liver had given out on him just as he was trying to stay clean. It’s time for the funeral to start and the wife is in her car trying to get herself together because she’s high on pills. Meanwhile, the urn with his ashes haven’t made it yet because her neighbor was supposed to bring them and no one can locate her. So I finally just flat out tell her we have to start, ashes or no ashes, and proceed with the funeral. The funeral itself, is another story of itself.

#70

Fortunarely pretty much every funeral I’ve been to has been pretty normal. The only thing I’ve got is more funnily awkward than anything else.
So my great grandma passed away when I was about 15-16, learning how to drive. My parents agreed to have me drive the car when we went in the funeral procession because it’s a new thing to experience as a new driver (and hey, I needed hours on the road.) I was told that when they motion you to pull out of the parking lot to GO, and to be decently quick with it, because the procession won’t wait for you. When it was my turn, I panicked a little and slammed on the gas, car in park, and revved the living S**T out of the engine of my mom’s car in the parking lot of a funeral.
My grandma would’ve found it absolutely hilarious so I only felt a little extremely embarrassed. Now it’s really funny to look back on.

#71

A story from a friend who helped arrange things and keep the peace during the event: Guy died, and it turned out he had TWO wives and TWO separate families who didn’t know about each other prior to his death. For some reason, they decided to have one funeral. One family sat on the right and one on the left.

#72

When I was 19 I had a high school class mate kill himself. Everyone pretended they didn’t know why. The funeral home was so packed it couldn’t house everyone. Most of them were filled with people that did nothing but s**t on the kid but “wah….let’s be sad”. The dad also acted like it was a “shocker” but he is the one that kicked his kid into living in the shed in the backyard for being caught with a bag of weed.

#73

My great grandfather passed away when i was about 7 years old. he was buried with a hat on his head that had tits in a bikini and tons of beer cans and bottles. imagine seeing a dead man wearing that at the age of 7. not to mention my family ate, talked and laughed all while he was sitting in the front of the room still in his casket. OPENED may i add. it was strange to say the least.

#74

It’s my uncle who has the story — went to the funeral of a Pentecostal guy he knew and a dude with whom I once piled lumber at a mill attempted to resurrect the deceased via the power of the Lord-uh.

#75

My husband’s coworker died, and we went to the funeral. The coworker’s boyfriend who was suspected of abusing her in the past and giving her the d***s she accidentally overdosed on had a freakout at the lunch reception while Evanescence “My Immortal” played. Screaming, limbs flailing, tearing down photo billboards of the deceased. Just a royal mess, I can never hear that song again.

Then there’s the one for my uncle who was Zoroastrian. The event was really nice, included a brief description for everyone of the religion’s tenets (good thoughts, words, deeds) and a lot of messaging about general love and acceptance that transcends divisiveness. Then my uncle’s second wife comes up and brags about how she pestered him for years to convert and “when he was finally on his deathbed I convinced him to repeat after me, ‘I accept Jesus,’ so I know he’s actually in heaven right now.” All my family was mouth agape just wtf awkward cringe.

#76

My best friend’s grandfather died and they had a military funeral for him, which I attended. It was a small funeral, so I sat with the family. I had noticed a butterfly flying around where we were sitting, and as the man leaned over to hand the flag to her grandmother, it landed on his shoulder. It stayed there until he stood, saluted, and turned to leave. I don’t know if anyone else noticed it, but I thought it was a particularly beautiful moment.

#77

At my aunts funeral they played thunderstruck by AC/DC and had a table of white rum shots. let’s just say it was exactly as she would’ve wanted. love you aunt kathy.

#78

Not crazy, but I guess strange but during my grandmothers funeral last year, the topic wasn’t my grandmother. At least not by some family members. They began mentioning me, stuff about my life, car, a job, some girl I got busy with (by some strange miracle). It was like bullying style. I’m not usually confrontational and I was caught off guard by it. It kept going until another invite there told them to drop the subject and that it was disrespectful.

#79

Saw embalming fluids leak from her eyes when we (immediate family members) first approached her casket. We were already crying as we approached her, and when the embalming fluids leaked out like that, people said it was her crying with us.

She was only 24-years-old when she lost her battle to lupus. I know she was not ready to go.

#80

I did something rather stupid, recently. Went to a funeral for my friend’s dad, a distinguished, kind, beautiful man of nearly 100 years old who had a colorful and interesting life. Had my glasses pushed back on my head as I bent down at the casket kneeler, but they slid off and quickly bounced under the casket itself.

I gently grabbed the casket side as I tried to elegantly reach down and get my glasses but they were further back than I expected and I ended up pulling the side of the casket apart. There was a ripping sound and a thin piece of wood pulled back from the casket interior as well as the fabric material as I floundered about praying I wouldn’t topple the casket over onto myself. Tried to quickly push it all back together before anyone could see what had happened but the ripping sound and rocking casket gave it away and we all had a good laugh but not really. The family members were not pleased.

#81

Witnessed a fight at the funeral service. Someone my husband worked with for a long time passed away unexpectedly so we went to the funeral. We knew that he was going through a divorce, but both his almost ex-wife and his girlfriend who I guess he cheated on his wife with were there, and when the wife was speaking, the girlfriend got up to speak, and it turned out into a huge fight I mean, like punches were thrown Stuff was knocked over. It was like something out of a reality TV show. My husband and I just kind of ducked out because we didn’t know what was going on and everybody from the family was screaming at each other.

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