Getty Image / Abbie Parr
I don’t think we give people enough credit for working humor into their obituaries in some form. More often than not, the end of life is a somber, painful, and miserable experience for the person on their way out and it’s hard to keep a sense of humor throughout.
An 86-year-old Minnesota man’s obituary published this week in the Star Tribune made light of his beloved Minnesota Vikings giving up 17 unanswered points to the Seattle Seahawks a week ago on Monday Night Football. The dark humor is meant to imply the Vikings had something to do with the elderly man’s passing but that clearly wasn’t the case.
The Minnesota Vikings went into that December 2nd Monday Night Football up 17-10 at the half but then gave up 17 unanswered points in the 3rd quarter to lose to the Seattle Seahawks with a final score of 30-37. The man’s obituary has since gone viral on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Cmillstrib/status/1202806913718784006/photo/1
Twitter / Cmillstrib
Fans on Twitter were quick to point out how great this is:
I hate to crack up at an obituary but that's hilarious! Thanks for the laugh!
— Janet K ~ 🌻 Threads 🙂 (@JanetKmilehigh) December 6, 2019
https://twitter.com/jasonyoh/status/1202941791764467712
At least he doesn’t have to witness the horrific collapse or blundering kicker that will eventually doom our season.
— The Pepsi Curse (@the_pepsi_curse) December 6, 2019
The Vikings win the Super Bowl every year in Heaven
— Andrew Miller (@heyapm) December 6, 2019
My uncle died on Thanksgiving weekend in 2011 because Michigan was beating Ohio for the first time in 8 years. He high fived his wife and dropped dead. He was neither old nor ill.
— jennifer holton (@jenniferholton7) December 6, 2019
https://twitter.com/jtlaurie/status/1202944544628772866
We only see a snippet of the obituary here but the NYPost expands on how this guy lived a pretty great life:
The 86-year-old football fan, who was born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., loved the Minnesota Vikings, in addition to Notre Dame, golf and a “good cigar.”
Ford’s obituary states he served as a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper with the 1st Airborne Battle Group, 187th Infantry. He worked in various business executive positions before opening up his own company, JFR Marketing, in the mid-1980s, his family said.
Ford leaves behind a wife, children and grandchildren who “filled his life with joy.” His funeral took place Friday.
I wish I could say that I’ve ever given thought to my obituary or written down some outrageous claims that my family *must* publish in it but I’ve never given it any consideration at all. I was always a fan of Royal Tenenbaum’s outrageous falsified headstone in the movie of the same name but that seems extravagant.