People With Dark Humor Share What Made Them Laugh During A Funeral
It's never easy to say goodbye to someone you care about and funerals are all about goodbyes. But when emotions are high, you're susceptible to more than one kind of outburst.
Reddit user GingerMonkeys asked "What caused you to laugh during someone's funeral?"
Here are the times that people couldn't help but laugh during a normally solemn occasion.
Who Are You?
Back in 2007 my friends and I where going through that pop punk against the establishment kind of scene phase, well when my best friend took his life in late 2009 his parents decided to play a montage music video of his life. Well the band they decided to use was a Nickelback cd they found in his room. I couldn't hold it back, I started to laugh uncontrollably. Once I stopped Laughing I couldn't tell whether his family didn't really know who their son was or was my friend a secret Nickelback fan.
Sophie
My grandmas funeral had a slideshow of pictures. One of the pictures was of her in her recliner with her dog sitting in her spot above her head. We all laughed because her and Sophie, the dog, had the same hair. It was a white Maltese Jack Russell kinda mix. She loved that damn dog and I'll cherish that picture forever.
I Like Big...
The love of my life committed suicide almost three years ago. N was young, handsome, accomplished, hilarious, and so so loved, & his visitation was packed with literally hundreds of people coming to say goodbye. Before the eulogy began we all crowded into a too-small room and his twin brother asked for a moment of quiet before he played a song N had loved.
I don't know how. I don't know why. But from somewhere - at that exact moment of silence - Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back" came blaring through the room. The wave of laughter that rolled through us was exactly what we needed, & we laughed until we sobbed. N had the best sense of humor & always found the absurd hilarious - if he could've planned his own funeral, he without a doubt would've planned something like this. He was also never shy about appreciating a nice butt, & since I'm kind of known for mine I've got to admit that THAT song playing at that exact moment still feels in the weirdest way like a small wave goodbye from him. We never figured out where that song came from - it didn't come through the speakers of the funeral home, & no one has ever admitted to playing it as a joke - but I'm so grateful to the universe for giving so many of us a small, happy memory in the midst of so much sadness.
Rocko
My grandpa died when my daughter was about 6. She was sitting on her dad's lap during the service. The minister said the old ashes to ashes, dust to dust line. My daughter whispers the rest of the timeless Rocko's Modern Life quote, "We stick Ed Bighead in the Earth's crust."
My husband, son, and I all lost it and we're shaking in near silent laughter. As close to silent as we could muster, anyway. Still the funniest thing I've ever witnessed at a funeral.
Let the Trumpets Sound
The priest farted. It was my great grandmother's funeral, and the last thing she ever told me was that she was happy she had her own room in the care facility "so I could fart as much as I want, and man, I let out some real corkers". I was with my dad then, and next to him at the funeral. I don't believe in God, but when that Priest let the good tunes fly, it's the closest I've come.
DOGE
One of my friends was buried in his doge shirt. My other friend and I were low-key giggling at his casket, just as he would have wanted.
Ashes to Ashes
We had my aunt cremated and during the wake we were discussing having her ashes put into a piece of jewelry (like a locket) for her mother. My dad (her brother) decided that'd be the perfect time to comment that "they'll have to be bloody careful unless they want to vacuum my sister out of the rug"; I was so close to wetting myself with laughter, sometimes a little dark humor can really make your day.
My brother-in-law then followed up the comment by humming spoonful of sugar from Mary Poppins because my sister informed us they only needed a teaspoon of the ashes to put into the pendant we decided on; clearly we're a family of idiots.
So Lifelike
At my Granny's funeral, there was a misprint on the flyer thing that said she'd died a year before she actually did. My dad commented that she looked great for having been in an open coffin for so long.
Holy
The priest praying at the end. "Thank you God for your eternal erection--- resurrection...."
One of Jesus' lesser known miracles.
And on the third day, He rose.
Axe of Vandalism
My friend, Steven, who died was really snooty and kind of liked the finer things in life.
It was an open casket. Our friend Jenny went up to pay respects to Steven.
During the service she leaned over and said, "I sprayed Axe on Steven when I was up there."
First time ever Steven wore a cheap-ass fragrance.
I <3 BOOBS
We were only 16 and it was a classmate. Very tragic. When I went up to the casket I noticed her parents chose to bury her with all of her favorite things including her phone and an "I LOVE BOOBIES" bracelet (breast cancer awareness) on her wrist, eye level to where I was kneeling. It made me chuckle, and with all of the emotions I ended up being unable to stop laughing for the remainder of the service.
Accurate Description
This wasn't at the funeral but at the luncheon afterward. The daughter of the deceased came to our table and asked how everyone was doing. My schoolmate said, "oh, alive and well!". I spit the coffee out of my mouth. Everyone else was silent as I was dying from laughter. The kid's face was beat red from embarrassment.
Pulsating
About ten years ago, I was at my wife's Grandmother's funeral. Small rural farming town, the funeral was in the quintessential small town funeral home, and presided over by the preacher in a tiny baptist church. Mullets abounded.
Anyhow, during the "sermon" that we were all sitting through, this preacher was gearing up toward an altar call. In building momentum, he was describing her life, and when he got to the point of her death, he described it thusly:
"...when her pulse pulsed its last pulse..."
I have no memory of what was said directly before or after. But I looked at my wife, she looked at me, and we glanced around at the rest of her family, who were all trying to keep the laughing at bay.
For the rest of this service we did all we could not to laugh, and only had moderate success. We got strange looks from the locals wondering who these rubes were laughing at a funeral of all places.
My wife and I still bring it up from time to time. I never thought I'd hear the word "pulse" used for so many different parts of speech in a single sentence.
Hat Trick
At my grandmother's funeral all the men were to wear yarmulkes but it was a windy day and as a bald man, mine kept blowing off of my head.
People are crying and the Rabbi is telling nice stories and I'm hunched over running around like an idiot chasing a tiny hat.
Should Have Brought a Snack
My sister's stomach growled loud enough for me to hear from two people away at my husband's grandma's funeral. We both laughed out loud. Thankfully it was just our small family so no harm done. Grandma would have laughed too.
Deep Sleeper
It was my grandfathers wake, not funeral, but I think it still counts. My grandma had Alzheimer's that was getting worse and worse. Everyone was going through the line saying their goodbyes to my grandfather in his casket. Don't know who it was but after one couple had said their goodbyes, they stopped to say hello to my grandma. They asked her how she was doing and she replied, "I'm doing great, but you should see Tom...he's not doing so hot" and gestured with her thumb towards his casket. She was so sweet and literally had no idea he had passed away...I know it sounds sad but her (unknowing) humor lightened all of our moods and we died laughing. That poor couple.
Parental Guidance
Someone near me greeted one of the deceased person's parents, and said: "Thank you for coming."
They didn't know who the person (parent) was.
Grandma's Wishes
My grandma was my favorite person. She was a fire cracker who almost always got her way, and also the type of person who everyone considers family from the moment they meet her. Literally every adult I knew called her "Ma" (including the CEO of one of the biggest tech companies in the 90's, for whom she was the Executive Assistant). She died a slow painful death from pancreatic cancer. This gave her a lot of time to think about and plan for her funeral, which is not something typical of Jewish services. She made lots of crude jokes about what food to serve during Shiva and what her obituary should say but one thing She was VERY clear and serious about was wanting everything to be as short and light as possible.
When she passed and we went to the funeral home we were very clear with what we (she) wanted and needed and the Rabbi agreed to do what we (she) had asked. However, when we got to the gravesite he went on and on and on and on and on and on (and on and on). There had been a really heavy rain the night before and morning of the funeral, so there was a tent over the area near her grave. The rain let up just before we got to the grave from the Temple and even though the tent had collapsed in a few parts due to pools of water, it was still standing. As the Rabbi is yammering away well past his agreed upon time frame a gust of wind comes out of nowhere and knocks ONE puddle off the tent, the puddle the Rabbi was standing directly under, soaking him and abruptly ending the service.
We all went from crying to hysterically laughing instantly. Say what you want, but from what we could tell there is no reason only THAT puddle was dumped off the tent or that the Rabbi was the only one soaked. We all agree Grandma was there to ensure she got what she wanted.
Chauffeur
I came so close to laughing at my wife's father's funeral. It was a Jewish funeral and the rabbi was going to blow the shofar (that ram's horn thing), and he talked about what it was going to symbolize and all, but he pronounced it exactly like "chauffeur" so I was just picturing him talking about how he was going to blow a chauffeur and it was going to be so beautiful and meaningful. So that had me on the edge. But then when he actually blew the thing he was really bad at it and it was the most comical noodly squeaky farty sound that I came really, perilously close to cracking up. If I had, I might not be married today.
Open Mic
The priest went to the bathroom during the eulogies. He forgot to turn his little microphone off. I knew my grandfather (the deceased) would have been laughing his ass off.
Luckily it was just peeing, BUT it was very obviously peeing. Right in the middle of a heartfelt story too. Several of us were cracking up pretty good during the whole thing.
