‘Better off without her’: Kids’ scathing obituary for mum goes viral

A son and daughter in the US have gained world-wide attention after their scathing obituary for their late mother went viral.

Kathleen Dehmlow died aged 80 last week, but according to her children she “will not be missed”.

In an obituary that has since been removed from the Redwood Falls Gazette, Dehmlov’s children took the chance to rip into their mother, who “became pregnant by her husband’s brother and moved to California” when they were young.

“She abandoned her children, Gina and Jay, who were then raised by her parents in Clements, Mr and Mrs Joseph Schunk,” the acid-tongued obituary read.

“She passed away on May 31, 2018 in Springfield and will now face judgment.

“She will not be missed by Gina and Jay, and they understand that this world is a better place without her.”

A screenshot of the obituary posted to Twitter went viral, garnering 57,000 likes and 19,000 retweets.

Paragraph 1: ok
Paragraph 2: ok
Paragraph 3: wait
Paragraph 4: OH
Paragraph 5: *airplane flies overhead with a banner reading WELCOME TO HELL MOM* pic.twitter.com/ppV45htrda

— Stu (@RandBallsStu) June 5, 2018

While the obituary gained some support from Millennials who said they’d write the same thing about their own parents, it also received plenty of backlash online, with commenters flooding the Gazette’s Facebook page with angry protestations.

“I can not believe you would publish such a demeaning obituary for every person to see. What is wrong with you to think that is even one bit okay?! You should be ashamed of yourself!” one woman wrote.

“What on earth is wrong with you people publishing something like that. Have some respect for the dead and have some decency for crying out loud,” added another.

It seems there was a bit of tension at the paper itself as to whether to publish the obituary in the first place, with the publication replying to one woman: “Most people at the Gazette, including the editor, protested running the obit, but were overruled.”

Read more: Family split over publication of brutal, and mysterious, obituary

It’s not the first time an obituary has sent a small newspaper viral. Last year, an obituary published in the Cherokee Scout newspaper, in North Carolina, found its way onto some of the biggest news site in the world for its less-than-glowing appraisal of local woman Cornelia June Rogers Miller, who died aged 82.

Miller’s family wrote of her: “Drugs were a major love in her life as June had no hobbies, made no contribution to society and rarely shared a kind word or deed in her life. Her presence will not be missed by many, very few tears will be shed, and there will be no lamenting over her passing.

“There will be no service, no prayers and no closure for the family she spent a lifetime tearing apart”.

Do you think people should leave their bad blood out of obituaries? Or do families have a right to tell it how it is? What do you hope your obituary says?