A dying man had one last request for his daughter: he didn’t want a run-of-the-mill obituary.
And she obliged, with none of this, “He was a loving father he will be sorely missed” stuff. Nope, Chris Connors’ daughter Caitlin wrote the obituary of a lifetime – and it tells the story of a bit of a legend who lived life to the full.
Irishman Chris, who lived in Maine in the US, passed away from pancreatic cancer and Motor Neurone Disease. But it’s clear he packed several lifetimes into his 67 years.
“Irishman Dies from Stubbornness, Whiskey,” starts the obituary – a fitting start for an exceptional man.
“Chris Connors died, at age 67, after trying to box his bikini-clad hospice nurse just moments earlier. Ladies man, game slayer, and outlaw Connors told his last inappropriate joke on Friday, December 9, 2016, that which cannot be printed here.
“Anyone else fighting ALS and stage 4 pancreatic cancer would have gone quietly into the night, but Connors was stark naked drinking Veuve in a house full of friends and family as Al Green played from the speakers. The way he died is just like he lived: he wrote his own rules, he fought authority and he paved his own way. And if you said he couldn't do it, he would make sure he could.”
Throughout the obituary, Caitlin tells the story of a man who squeezed the last drop out of life, and played, worked and loved hard.
“As much as people knew hanging out with him would end in a night in jail or a killer screwdriver hangover, he was the type of man that people would drive 16 hours at the drop of a dime to come see. He lived 1000 years in the 67 calendar years we had with him because he attacked life; he grabbed it by the lapels, kissed it, and swung it back onto the dance floor. At the age of 26 he planned to circumnavigate the world – instead, he ended up spending 40 hours on a life raft off the coast of Panama.
“He was a rare combination of someone who had a love of life and a firm understanding of what was important – the simplicity of living a life with those you love. Although he threw some of the most memorable parties during the greater half of a century, he would trade it all for a night in front of the fire with his family in Maine.”
No doubt the tongue-in-cheek, loving and affectionate obituary would have made Chris proud. If it’s anything to go by, Caitlin clearly shares the same irreverent view of life as her father.
“Chris enjoyed cross dressing, a well-made fire, and mashed potatoes with lots of butter. His regrets were few, but include eating a rotisserie hot dog from an unmemorable convenience store in the summer of 1986.
“Of all the people he touched, both willing and unwilling, his most proud achievement in life was marrying his wife Emily Ayer Connors who supported him in all his glory during his heyday, and lovingly supported him physically during their last days together.”
This made us cry a little, and also made us want to be a little bit more like Chris Connors.
You can view the full obituary here.
