There are probably very few people in the world who will say they enjoy going to funerals. Even if the death was expected and the person fought an illness, it is never an easy situation.
If you are a parent who is planning a funeral for your young children's other parent, it can be a devastating time for everyone. No one wants to say goodbye to their mom or dad, but making what can be a sad day into a lively celebration can help ease some of the pain that comes with death.
Brandon Young was only 39 years old when he suffered a stroke on May 3. Sadly, he never recovered and died on May 17. His wife, Katie Young, knew his death would be difficult on the couple’s three children, so instead of a sad and maudlin funeral, the family had a "FUNeral" with all of Brandon's favorite things. The family's idea went viral.
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Brandon's death was unexpected.
Katie explained to Fox News that her husband had struggled with high blood pressure since high school, and he ended up having a hemorrhagic stroke on his brain stem in early May.
She said that after the stroke, doctors were unable to get his blood pressure under control, which resulted in several more strokes that ultimately took his life. She knew she had to plan a funeral for her husband, but she was grief-stricken at the thought.
"Every time I thought about planning a funeral for Brandon, I felt sick to my stomach. When I thought about how traumatic and torturous it would have been for my children to sit through, I just could not do it," Katie said.
Brandon was apparently full of fun.
Katie told Fox News that her husband was a natural artist and always did creative things with their three kids, Eleanor, 12, Claude, 10, and Ingrid, 8. She said what started as an idea to have a few art supplies out for guests quickly moved into the FUNeral idea. More than 500 people showed up for the celebration of Brandon's life, which included Popsicles, music, and even a bounce house.
A friend posted a video of the event on TikTok, and it quickly went viral.
Sicily Wilcock posted about the FUNeral on her TikTok account, @sicily.wilcock, and it has been viewed more than 3 million times. The text on the video reads, "My friend had a FUNeral to celebrate his life."
The 30-second clip seems to capture all the best of Brandon and his love for life and his family. She captioned the video, "We will miss you Brandon. Thanks for all the laughs and love!"
TikTokers loved the FUNeral idea.
The celebration touched a lot of hearts.
TikTok star Mama Tot wrote, "This is such a beautiful thing! Celebrate Brandon ."
This person could feel Brandon's essence: "I don't know who Brandon was. But I'm kinda sad I didn't get to know him. Looks like a lot of people loved him."
And this person agreed: "What a beautiful way to celebrate someone's life and the mark they left. It echos out into strangers hearts like mine, bringing tears to my eyes."
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Many people want to normalize happiness at the end of life.
Sad funerals are a thing of the past for plenty of families.
That includes this one: "my family has celebrations of life rather than funerals. i love that we get to be grateful for the moments we had with them rather than crying all day," one person commented.
Someone else wrote, "my step dad did this cause he said 'i already have cancer, seems unfair i miss a party in honour' and it was the best night surrounded by so much love and bittersweet joy."
Another family had a similar celebration. "My dad decided he wanted a 'going away party' so he could enjoy the festivities too. It was like a big family reunion. He passed two months later. We're so glad we had his party with him here!" the commenter explained.
This person summed it up beautifully: "If my funeral isn't 1/100th of this, I'll be so sad. This is the best celebration!!"
Loved ones created a GoFundMe account for the family. It has raised more than $48,000 of a $50,000 goal thus far.
