If I had to guess what it’s like to be a mortician, I’d imagine it involves quite a bit of dissociating. Being surrounded by inevitability and grief all day, every day has to be daunting for the mind and the soul, and I certainly don’t envy them.
So imagine our surprise when a user asked the internet if there were any moments funeral directors simply couldn’t forget, and the replies were filled with knee-slapping and shocking stories.
Read more: Reddit
#1
Another family of the deceased. My grandmother's service was going normally, hearing about her life and so on, and to end it the celebrant said she was going to read a poem she thought my grandmother would have liked. Awesome, everyone's interested.
She begins, in a very dramatic voice with intense emotion and plenty of pauses to let it really sink in:
*From the day we arrive... on this planet.*
*And blinking... step into... the sun*
At this point I realised what was happening. So did my brother, on one side of me, and my partner, on the other side. My partner squeezes my hand. My brother makes a kind of choking noise. The rest of the family are oblivious. The celebrant continues:
*There's more to see... than can ever... be seen.*
*More to do than can ever..... be done*
My brother's foot starts twitching violently, my partner's kind of frozen, I'm staring at my lap and desperately trying to stay composed because this woman is doing *a dramatic reading of a song from The Lion King at my grandmother's funeral*.
She read through the whole song. Including the chorus. Including, at the very end:
*It's the circle.... the circle........OF LIFE.*
The rest of the family are either silent or quietly sobbing, touched by the emotional "poem". My partner is staring into space, presumably trying to dissociate. My brother's foot is tapping so fast he might be having a seizure. I'm holding my breath so I don't start howling with laughter.
We made it into the car on the way to bury her before my partner and I absolutely lost it.
After the burial was done we got in the car to go home, and by then I was pretty sad again. My partner turned to me and very grandly began: "Under... the sea. Under...... the SEA. Darling, it's better... down where it's wetter....... take it..... from me."
I knew she was a keeper before then but my god, no one could have said anything better at that moment. We spent the entire car ride home dramatically declaiming Disney songs.
My grandmother would have loved it. She would have been laughing until she cried. It was so terrible that it became wonderful. Thanks for the last amazing memory, Nana.
She begins, in a very dramatic voice with intense emotion and plenty of pauses to let it really sink in:
*From the day we arrive... on this planet.*
*And blinking... step into... the sun*
At this point I realised what was happening. So did my brother, on one side of me, and my partner, on the other side. My partner squeezes my hand. My brother makes a kind of choking noise. The rest of the family are oblivious. The celebrant continues:
*There's more to see... than can ever... be seen.*
*More to do than can ever..... be done*
My brother's foot starts twitching violently, my partner's kind of frozen, I'm staring at my lap and desperately trying to stay composed because this woman is doing *a dramatic reading of a song from The Lion King at my grandmother's funeral*.
She read through the whole song. Including the chorus. Including, at the very end:
*It's the circle.... the circle........OF LIFE.*
The rest of the family are either silent or quietly sobbing, touched by the emotional "poem". My partner is staring into space, presumably trying to dissociate. My brother's foot is tapping so fast he might be having a seizure. I'm holding my breath so I don't start howling with laughter.
We made it into the car on the way to bury her before my partner and I absolutely lost it.
After the burial was done we got in the car to go home, and by then I was pretty sad again. My partner turned to me and very grandly began: "Under... the sea. Under...... the SEA. Darling, it's better... down where it's wetter....... take it..... from me."
I knew she was a keeper before then but my god, no one could have said anything better at that moment. We spent the entire car ride home dramatically declaiming Disney songs.
My grandmother would have loved it. She would have been laughing until she cried. It was so terrible that it became wonderful. Thanks for the last amazing memory, Nana.
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89points
#2
Not a funeral worker, but an attendee.
My grandfather passed from a combination of old age, bleeding disorders, and lukiemia. During the viewing, my grandmother is standing at the head of the casket trying to maintain composure and appear like she isnt an emotional wreck.
My uncle (their only son) wanders up to the casket, leans over and goes, "Dad, you want a donut?" With said cream stick donut in hand. We all lost it laughing, even grandma.
That single moment of levity made the entire day brighter and brought closure. And yes, pap would have had three donuts, claimed to have had only one, and hidden a box to take home with him.
My grandfather passed from a combination of old age, bleeding disorders, and lukiemia. During the viewing, my grandmother is standing at the head of the casket trying to maintain composure and appear like she isnt an emotional wreck.
My uncle (their only son) wanders up to the casket, leans over and goes, "Dad, you want a donut?" With said cream stick donut in hand. We all lost it laughing, even grandma.
That single moment of levity made the entire day brighter and brought closure. And yes, pap would have had three donuts, claimed to have had only one, and hidden a box to take home with him.
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57points
#3
300 pound guy in casket. 6 of us carried him up steep granite steps into the church. Casket got turned around in church. Leaving, the body slid to the front of the casket as we went down the steps and took all six of us down. Broken leg for me and one other guy. Third guy with a serious back injury. Two ambulances.
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51points
You probably need a special kind of sensitivity to be a mortician. After all, as they’re often on the front lines of grief and loss, funeral directors are at high risk of developing mental issues. And yet, some of these stories feel like they’ve been pulled straight out of a comedy book, filled with morbidly hilarious timing that no one, not even a full-time mortician, could hear without cracking a smile.
After all, it’s not every day that we see “Circle of Life,” the grand anthem from The Lion King, cited and quoted as a poem during a wake. Or that a 19-year-old granddaughter would quite literally claim that funeral directors had removed her grandfather's legs, who seemed shorter in the casket. Stranger things have happened, but that’s definitely not common practice (in fact, it’s very much illegal).
#4
I have a second-hand story from a funeral director friend. She did lovely makeup on a younger lady who was in bad shape. An older relative got very upset at the wake because the body "was wearing too much makeup" and used her thumb to rub it off, pulling loose some of the corpse's skin and dislodging her eye.
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48points
#5
Not a funeral director, but a preacher's kid.
Dad used to do "walk-on" funerals - services where the deceased didn't belong to a church, so the funeral home would just hire him to fill in. He'd talk to whoever was available and make a short sermon/eulogy out of the information they gave him. There are . . . a LOT of stories from this. I'll just do one:
It's a private viewing, funeral is tomorrow. Dad sits next to Widow, who is sitting by casket.
Dad: "I'm so sorry for your loss. Was he a good husband?"
Widow: "No."
Dad: ". . . oh. Was he a good father?"
Widow: "No."
[long pause]
Dad: "Did he . . . was he important to his community?"
Widow: "No."
[longer pause]
Dad: "I'm sorry, but what exactly do you want me to do tomorrow for his service?"
Widow: "Bury him.".
Dad used to do "walk-on" funerals - services where the deceased didn't belong to a church, so the funeral home would just hire him to fill in. He'd talk to whoever was available and make a short sermon/eulogy out of the information they gave him. There are . . . a LOT of stories from this. I'll just do one:
It's a private viewing, funeral is tomorrow. Dad sits next to Widow, who is sitting by casket.
Dad: "I'm so sorry for your loss. Was he a good husband?"
Widow: "No."
Dad: ". . . oh. Was he a good father?"
Widow: "No."
[long pause]
Dad: "Did he . . . was he important to his community?"
Widow: "No."
[longer pause]
Dad: "I'm sorry, but what exactly do you want me to do tomorrow for his service?"
Widow: "Bury him.".
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46points
#6
OK. Weird story here. Not a funeral employee, but attended as family of deceased.
My great uncle was a member of a catholic holy order for 70-ish years. He worked out of Wisconsin, main location: Massachusetts.
He was well respected and important in his order, so instead of having the services at his location they "honored" him by having him blessed his inturnment at the main location. OK, enough world building.
So huge, I mean huge cathedral. Absolutely beautiful, indescribable. My uncle, in his casket, up front. It was a simple wooden box as dictated by his vow of poverty.
After the sermon and heart wrenching tributes about his compassion and years of service, the family was allowed to approach the casket to say our goodbyes.
When a casket is open it hits a body near the waist. My uncle was only showing his upper chest. Weird? But whatever. When it was my turn at the box I noticed it seemed too short. So I stretched out my arms to "measure". This horrified my mother who grabbed my arms and pinned them at my sides. I then said to her "they cut his legs off". My uncle was 6'7 after old people shrinking. There was no way he fit in that box. My mom went from inconsolable to laughing hysterically. She then told her siblings waiting in line behind us. The whole family was rolling.
After I returned to my seat, a brother from his order pulled me aside and reassured me his legs were in there, next to him. A larger casket was expensive and my uncle refused any luxury.
I wish I was a child when this happened. I was 19.
My great uncle was a member of a catholic holy order for 70-ish years. He worked out of Wisconsin, main location: Massachusetts.
He was well respected and important in his order, so instead of having the services at his location they "honored" him by having him blessed his inturnment at the main location. OK, enough world building.
So huge, I mean huge cathedral. Absolutely beautiful, indescribable. My uncle, in his casket, up front. It was a simple wooden box as dictated by his vow of poverty.
After the sermon and heart wrenching tributes about his compassion and years of service, the family was allowed to approach the casket to say our goodbyes.
When a casket is open it hits a body near the waist. My uncle was only showing his upper chest. Weird? But whatever. When it was my turn at the box I noticed it seemed too short. So I stretched out my arms to "measure". This horrified my mother who grabbed my arms and pinned them at my sides. I then said to her "they cut his legs off". My uncle was 6'7 after old people shrinking. There was no way he fit in that box. My mom went from inconsolable to laughing hysterically. She then told her siblings waiting in line behind us. The whole family was rolling.
After I returned to my seat, a brother from his order pulled me aside and reassured me his legs were in there, next to him. A larger casket was expensive and my uncle refused any luxury.
I wish I was a child when this happened. I was 19.
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39points
Aside from the mental health risks, one thing we tend to forget is the stress that comes with providing such an emotionally demanding service, sometimes within a short time frame. A 2024 study found that funeral directors are often expected to prepare a funeral within as little as 24 hours, checking all the boxes for the families, making it a particularly high-stress job.
This also means irregular hours and on-site calls are common for funeral homes and their employees. And if a service isn’t properly organized, unexpected incidents can happen, like someone’s hair catching fire due to hairspray, for instance. Accidents do happen, of course, but sometimes they’re just the result of very poor planning from the funeral director’s side.
#7
Not a funeral director, but when my grandmother died, we had the funeral at the church. We had picked out her clothes and jewelry. She had an expensive pair of earrings and my mother and aunt were arguing over them, so my uncle and my grandfather decided she should be buried with them to keep peace in the family. My grandmother had asked for a full church service and at the very end the pastor asked if anyone wanted to speak. My mother stood up in front of a full church and said that she wanted the funeral director to remove the earrings before he closed the casket....he did. My mom walked up to take them, but my uncle, who was the oldest, stood up and said nope...he took them and I have no idea what happened to them after that. My mother stayed mad about that for years.
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37points
#8
Not a director, just a mourner: at the funeral for the father of my friend’s wife, there was a near unexpected live cremation of one of his daughters.
What happened was this: in the chapel, someone made the mistake of setting out a silver tray covered with those little tea light candles. They had all heated each other and melted into a flaming hazard.
Some of the staff grabbed the tray and were hauling it out the door to toss it in the snow, when they passed close to my friend’s wife’s sister. Unfortunately, this lady had done her hair up in a fancy do for the funeral - using tons of hairspray.
This instantly caught fire in the most spectacular way. Flames shot up halfway to the ceiling, as the distinct aroma of burnt hair filled the venue, while her screams filled the air.
Fortunately, one of the guests near her reacted quickly and tossed his suit jacket over her head, smothering the inferno before she was seriously hurt. Half her hair was gone, but she had so much hair the rest insulated her head from harm.
What happened was this: in the chapel, someone made the mistake of setting out a silver tray covered with those little tea light candles. They had all heated each other and melted into a flaming hazard.
Some of the staff grabbed the tray and were hauling it out the door to toss it in the snow, when they passed close to my friend’s wife’s sister. Unfortunately, this lady had done her hair up in a fancy do for the funeral - using tons of hairspray.
This instantly caught fire in the most spectacular way. Flames shot up halfway to the ceiling, as the distinct aroma of burnt hair filled the venue, while her screams filled the air.
Fortunately, one of the guests near her reacted quickly and tossed his suit jacket over her head, smothering the inferno before she was seriously hurt. Half her hair was gone, but she had so much hair the rest insulated her head from harm.
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29points
#9
Not a funeral director, but at my cousins wedding, my Aunt released a white dove. This was in California on a sunny day and we all watched as a hawk swooped down and grabbed the dove.
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29points
It’s particularly difficult to find a silver lining in this line of work, especially when dealing with those who are grieving. After all, experts warn people about the health and emotional issues that come with grief. Cognitive impairments caused by changes in brain chemistry can quite literally alter a person, and it isn’t easy to run a business around that.
At the same time, not everything is bad news. According to recent reports, American life expectancy has increased, and on top of that, early 2025 data shows that terminal cases related have decreased compared to 2024. Ultimately, while this could mean less business for funeral homes, it may also give funeral directors a much-needed break from all that stress.
#10
Not a funeral director but...
We catered one where a woman's husband died. This lady from their church showed up at the funeral luncheon with her own van full of food because "*our* food wasn't made with love".
She had fried chicken, hotdogs, baked beans, a whole giant sheet cake, like 5 massive deli trays, fruit and veggie platters, a bunch of ice cream & toppings, mashed potatoes, chili, macaroni salad and potato salad, all sorts of cookies & chips and crackers, about 20 gallons of Hawaiian punch...
It was an *insane* amount of food. There had to be enough there to feed over 300 people, and this was a small funeral with like 50 attendees.
She was walking around yanking people's plates out of their hands and piling them full of the food she'd brought and chewing them out when they tried to tell her no thanks, she tried to throw away all the food we'd brought, and then tried to tip over the table of sandwiches we had set up (luckily she was a tiny old lady and couldn't budge the table) then she tried to claim my coworker tried to strangle her.
After that she was finally told she needed to leave immediately, so she screamed a bunch of cuss words at everyone in earshot, then stormed outside and dumped *all* that food in a big heap in the middle of the church parking lot and drove off in a huff.
The whole thing was just surreal.
We catered one where a woman's husband died. This lady from their church showed up at the funeral luncheon with her own van full of food because "*our* food wasn't made with love".
She had fried chicken, hotdogs, baked beans, a whole giant sheet cake, like 5 massive deli trays, fruit and veggie platters, a bunch of ice cream & toppings, mashed potatoes, chili, macaroni salad and potato salad, all sorts of cookies & chips and crackers, about 20 gallons of Hawaiian punch...
It was an *insane* amount of food. There had to be enough there to feed over 300 people, and this was a small funeral with like 50 attendees.
She was walking around yanking people's plates out of their hands and piling them full of the food she'd brought and chewing them out when they tried to tell her no thanks, she tried to throw away all the food we'd brought, and then tried to tip over the table of sandwiches we had set up (luckily she was a tiny old lady and couldn't budge the table) then she tried to claim my coworker tried to strangle her.
After that she was finally told she needed to leave immediately, so she screamed a bunch of cuss words at everyone in earshot, then stormed outside and dumped *all* that food in a big heap in the middle of the church parking lot and drove off in a huff.
The whole thing was just surreal.
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28points
#11
At one funeral an artistic looking guy showed up and sat down by the open casket and drew a caricature of the deceased person on display inside, and then offered to sell the drawing to the bereaved family. They were very taken aback and didn't know how to react, but politely complimented the drawing and paid for it, but then immediately afterwards came to me and told me what happened and were upset, they also didn't know the guy. I spotted the guy hanging around near the snacks table and told him to leave. He said he does the open casket caricatures to lighten the mood at funerals and give people something to remember the deceased by, but I told him that cashing in on people's grief and especially doing so uninvited just isn't acceptable. I try to have better access control at the venues from now on.
28points
#12
This was definitely a bit odd. Wake for 1 evening and service the following morning with internment. Family had to bring decedent’s goldfish to the wake. Next day, goldfish is at the service. But during the procession to the cemetery, the lead cars stop, driver gets out and goes to the family car. Someone forgot the bloody goldfish. A car is sent back to grab the goldfish who is still swimming happily in his bowl. Graveside wouldn’t start until the goldfish showed up fashionably late.
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26points
Of course, despite all the intensity that comes with being a mortician surrounded by grief, the stories shared by funeral directors and attendees show that even in the darkest moments, there’s still some light to be found. Whether it’s a funny family member or a particularly bizarre moment, undertakers truly see just about everything.
In fact, some of these stories include simply bizarre and downright absurd moments, from a wake being delayed because the deceased person’s goldfish had been forgotten at home, to someone releasing a dove at a funeral only for it to be immediately snatched by a hawk. Two birds, one stone, you could say.
#13
Not a director but worked with an outside catering company that did funerals often. One time had a little girl like 7yo decide she didn’t like the reception room and snuck into the back and ran up and down the hall, past the staging room with a dead body clearly on display but not ready for viewing.
Also the amount of people who would get mad at the shrimp cocktail running out when you only ordered 50 shrimps and then demanding more to be cooked. Like bro, there’s only one oven here and it ain’t for food.
Also the amount of people who would get mad at the shrimp cocktail running out when you only ordered 50 shrimps and then demanding more to be cooked. Like bro, there’s only one oven here and it ain’t for food.
24points
#14
Not a funeral director, but I attended a funeral where the mood completely changed halfway through. The family started sharing funny stories about the person who passed away, and suddenly people were laughing instead of crying. At first it felt strange, but then it made sense it felt more like a celebration of their life than just mourning. I still think about how quickly the atmosphere shifted.
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24points
#15
When Jonas Salk died, I worked for El Camino Memorial Park in San Diego where he is buried. When his widow and her entourage came in to make arrangements and she was looking at our Lincoln Towne Cars, she turned to the director and said, those will do for the secondary family, but we will bring our own cars for the immediate family. Okay.......on the day of his funeral, five Bentleys rolled up the drive and started my love affair with the most gorgeous cars I have ever seen.
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24points
All of this just goes to show that the way people express love and honor someone’s memory is changing. Experts say the funeral industry itself is shifting, with cremation now more popular than ever. But that’s not all: themed funerals have also been on the rise, as more people embrace the idea of turning funerals into celebrations of life.
Whether it’s movies or hobbies that are involved in a funeral, what might seem odd at first is often simply a way to honor who someone was while they were alive. Maybe a poetic rendition of “Circle of Life” isn’t that strange after all. So, what unique stories do you have from your own life experience?
#16
Not a funeral director but heard it from one…
Two unrelated very old ladies died within 24 hours.
Open casket was held for the first one, pretty standard with crying relatives etc., she is buried.
Open casket for the second, at the same funeral home.
It starts of typical with crying relatives, etc.
But at some point one of the relatives says “That is not her.”.
A few others look closer, she has funeral make up so it is hard to say, but they agree that is not her.
More discussion, funeral director is called in, he assures them this is her.
Well, she was missing a leg, this ought to be pretty easy to prove.
They check the lady in the casket and find TWO legs.
Now they KNOW it is not her.
Much confusion, it took them until the next day to figure out the bodies had been switched.
Lawsuits followed.
Two unrelated very old ladies died within 24 hours.
Open casket was held for the first one, pretty standard with crying relatives etc., she is buried.
Open casket for the second, at the same funeral home.
It starts of typical with crying relatives, etc.
But at some point one of the relatives says “That is not her.”.
A few others look closer, she has funeral make up so it is hard to say, but they agree that is not her.
More discussion, funeral director is called in, he assures them this is her.
Well, she was missing a leg, this ought to be pretty easy to prove.
They check the lady in the casket and find TWO legs.
Now they KNOW it is not her.
Much confusion, it took them until the next day to figure out the bodies had been switched.
Lawsuits followed.
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23points
#17
We have a lovely guy Steve and company that has done a few family and friends funerals for us over the years. He would of known that our Nanna was our matriarch and meant a lot to us. Before we placed and screwed the lid we carried out a family tradition that he was clearly not expecting.
When ever we are together as a whole family, we do the chicken dance. Nanna loved to watch us and join in herself. Poor Steve (funeral director) had seen a lot of things in his 30 year career but this was very clearly a first for him. Though he did his best to stay professional, he was trying so hard not to Crack up laughing.
I wouldn't be surprised if that story has been shared a few times at after work beers.
When ever we are together as a whole family, we do the chicken dance. Nanna loved to watch us and join in herself. Poor Steve (funeral director) had seen a lot of things in his 30 year career but this was very clearly a first for him. Though he did his best to stay professional, he was trying so hard not to Crack up laughing.
I wouldn't be surprised if that story has been shared a few times at after work beers.
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22points
#18
Dad was a funeral director and I'd regularly help him out around the FH. I'll never forget the time that I went with him to transport a body ~300 miles to another state. This was pre internet days so as far as we knew the address we were given was to another FH. We also weren't given a specific time to be there either.
You might see where this going, but we certainly didn't expect to pull up to a mausoleum with a crowd of mourners waiting for the main attraction to show up. Said crowd had been waiting about 2 hours by the time we showed up. Now obviously there should have been better communication here, but in hindsight we also probably shouldn't have stopped and ate on the way either.
You might see where this going, but we certainly didn't expect to pull up to a mausoleum with a crowd of mourners waiting for the main attraction to show up. Said crowd had been waiting about 2 hours by the time we showed up. Now obviously there should have been better communication here, but in hindsight we also probably shouldn't have stopped and ate on the way either.
21points
#19
Not a funeral director, but the preacher at my grandpa’s funeral legitimately had dementia and went off topic for the entire service. Some of his greatest hits included:
- Ranting about how much people use their cell phones.
- Ranting about gay people (my grandpa loved me, his gay grandson, and would have been very upset by this)
- Randomly talking about 9/11 and how there are “no elevators in hell”.
- Ranted about liberals (my grandpa was a lifelong democrat and union member)
- Talking about how women are so much more beautiful than men.
He didn’t talk about my grandpa once. We all probably should have said something but we were all in collective shock about how inappropriate he was being.
- Ranting about how much people use their cell phones.
- Ranting about gay people (my grandpa loved me, his gay grandson, and would have been very upset by this)
- Randomly talking about 9/11 and how there are “no elevators in hell”.
- Ranted about liberals (my grandpa was a lifelong democrat and union member)
- Talking about how women are so much more beautiful than men.
He didn’t talk about my grandpa once. We all probably should have said something but we were all in collective shock about how inappropriate he was being.
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20points
#20
Co worker being extremely hungover - passing out and falling into the grave while closing prayers were being recited . Florida heat/humidity can be a thing . Myself and clergy with a couple family are helped to pull him out. Embarrassing to say the least. Family never found out how the hangover detail- chalked it up to the extreme heat. They consoled him. Didn’t get fired or reprimanded- dad owned the FH. Good Time lol.
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19points