Usually, when a loved one dies, their family honors them by publishing a sweet obituary in the local newspaper to honor their memory. But, just because most families follow this tradition doesn’t mean that each and every one is so eager to pen a glowing eulogy for the dearest departed. As a matter of fact, some families would rather air their dirty laundry in the obit section than challenge themselves to say something nice. Nope, we’re not kidding!
Take the family featured in today’s video, for instance. Believe it or not, the two adult children of Kathleen Dehmlow from Redwood Falls, Minnesota published a scathing obituary about their late mother for all of the townsfolk to read.
The obit starts off sounding quite standard, but as you read on to the last paragraph, it’s obvious that these two had a serious bone to pick with their mom. We won’t give away the “best” (aka the WORST) part, but it ends with “…this world is a better place without her.”
Yep, we weren’t kidding you when we said that this was a scathing obituary. Pretty awkward stuff!
According to Business Insider, the paper that published the original obituary, the Redwood Falls Gazette, ended up pulling the obituary from its online publication after it received so much public backlash.
In a recent interview with the Star Tribune, a member of the family confirmed the sordid details that were included in the now-viral obituary, but he also admitted “that there is a lot of stuff that is missing” about the late mother’s life.
The family member, Dwight Dehmlow, told the publication that he has a very different view on Ms. Dehmlow’s actions. “She made a mistake 60 years ago, but who hasn’t?” he said. “Has she regretted it over the years? Yes.”
The family member said that the writer of the obituary “decided to go out with hate.” “This is going to hurt a lot of people,” he added.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, plenty of folks have also questioned why the obituary was published by the local paper in the first place. According to the paper’s CEO and founder, Stopher Bartol, it is not illegal for these paid pieces to be published–no matter how inflammatory they may be.
“Because the content standards of our newspaper partners are extremely high, we haven’t needed to implement independent standards in this area,” Bartol said. “That said, we take very seriously the trust placed in us by our partners and the families we together serve, and we will review and re-evaluate our procedures as necessary.”
Ok, we know that you’re probably foaming at the mouth to read the rest of this scathing obituary. To get the full story for yourself, be sure to watch the video below. Wild stuff!
We can’t wait to get your take on this very non-traditional obituary. Are you surprised that this woman’s estranged children decided to represent her life in this manner? Do you think that she was deserving of it? Have you ever been inclined to publish a scathing obituary?
