You have been warned!
If you continue to read on, you risk being offended. Proceed accordingly!
Only hit that “read the rest” link if you’re really sure you wanna … beneath the fold you will find a photograph of the monogrammed casket for a recent celebrity death …
Read the rest of this entry »
This one was for real, though
Missy found this one.
Fifty-one years ago in 1958, Edmund O’Keeffe, an Irish flight engineer, was reported dead by the Evening Press on Christmas Eve after a fatal air crash in Britain which killed nine people.
The test flight of the Bristol Britannia 312 (to gain an American safety certificate) crashed in heavy fog on the morning of Christmas Eve near Christchurch in the south of England. O’Keeffe was one of only three survivors. All seven passengers and two of the crew were were killed.
O’Keeffe’s sister Maura Green said it took a week for the family to correct the report in the papers. “For nearly a week people thought he was dead,” she said, adding that the family was inundated with condolences over the Christmas period. “We always said he was like Lazarus. He got 51 more years than some people expected. About 20 years later, he flew into Dublin and a journalist came up to the cockpit and said to him ‘I was the one who wrote your obituary’. He enjoyed that.”
O’Keeffe’s wounds were so severe that he spent a year in hospital recovering. He hung a copy of the newspaper report over his bed.
O’Keeffe went on to raise a large family and returned to work with the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), and then worked for a Singapore airline. He retired after flying for over 31 years.
O’Keeffe celebrated his “death” every year. He had his 50th “anniversary” last year and was less than a month from his 51st.
He died this week at the age of 86. His funeral will take place in his hometown of Dundrum in Dublin next week.
Cheated the Hangman, but the job’s still done
Remember Jessica Lunsford? [Previously, on OM]
John Couey — the miserable bastard that kidnapped, raped and then buried Jessica alive right across the street from her house back in 2005 — is dead. He died in prison “not unexpectedly” of unspecified “natural causes” at the age of 51.
Jessica’s grandma, Ruth Lunsford (77), said in a telephone interview with AP that she couldn’t feel bad about Couey’s death.
“He murdered my granddaughter. He didn’t show any mercy to my granddaughter,” she said. “God took control of it. He took him out of this world. … I’m not crying, honey. If my legs and feet would hold up, I’d go out and shout all over Citrus County.”
Right there with you, Ruth. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Not that I have anything to say about her
Other than maybe “one down, four to go” or perhaps “about time.” She had to die in the prison hospital, they denied her last parole request — but she got to die with a whole lot more dignity and comfort than the people she murdered. I’d say she came out ahead. Hope her reconciliation with God was sincere, at least.
Heaven got a new voice in the choir
Mary Travers (Peter, Paul & Mary) passed away Wednesday at the age of 72. She had been battling leukemia for many years.
Patrick Swayze passed away Monday at the far too young age of 57. He had pancreatic cancer.
I originally wrote this post in 2006 for the 2996 Project.
In past years, this entry has attracted many wonderful comments and visitors. It has also attracted some comments which detract from the tribute meant with this entry. Therefore I am operating on an absolute zero tolerance policy for this post this year. Any offensive comments will be removed by me as quickly as I see them. Repeated posting of such comments will result in your loss of posting privileges on this domain. If you are a new poster to this site, your comment will be held for moderation until it is approved. I apologize in advance for this heavy-handed treatment with those of you who would never think of doing such a thing, and hope you understand that this is not in any way directed at you.
Missy has reposted her column from 2006 as well, on her blog with her honoree, David William Nelson.
~~~~~
On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, Ruth McCourt, her four year old daughter Juliana and her best friend Paige Farley-Hackel drove to Boston’s Logan International Airport. They were on their way to Southern California. They were going to see friends, they were going to spend a few days at Deepak Chopra’s Center for Well-Being where Paige would receive certification in the Debbie Ford Shadow Process and they were going to take “Miss J” to Disneyland. Because they wanted to use frequent flier miles, they wound up on different airlines. Paige was on American Airlines flight 11, Ruth and Juliana were on United flight 175. They would meet up at the airport in Los Angeles, California, and begin their mini-vacation.
That same morning Ruth’s brother Ron Clifford, who lives in New Jersey, had a meeting scheduled at the Marriott Marquis in Midtown, but it was moved to the Marriott World Trade Center at the last moment. He and Ruth were especially close, she’d even instructed him on which tie to wear for the meeting. It was a beautiful day, his daughter Monica’s 11th birthday, and this meeting was extremely important to his career future.
Passed away Saturday, 29 August
Robert Schindler Sr. passed away on Saturday at the age of 71. Mr. Schindler died of apparent heart failure.
Mr. Schindler was born on October 23, 1937 and is survived by his wife Mary, and two of his children, Suzanne Vitadamo and Robert Schindler, Jr. He was preceded in death by his daughter Terri Schinder (Schiavo), who died on March 31, 2005 from a court-ordered (at the behest of her husband, who wanted to get on with his life) withdrawal of nutrition and hydration. The Schindlers fought tirelessly to try to stop their daughter’s death, believing it was court-ordered murder. Their efforts failed.
Following Terri’s death, the family began advocating for other medically dependent and disabled patients facing similar circumstances through the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation. In 2007, the National Right to Life Educational Trust Fund honored the Schindler family with the Proudly Pro-Life Award for their dedication and public witness to the cause of life. “In life, Bob, and his wife Mary, never sought the spotlight. They only wished to care for their beloved daughter, Terri. Through their selfless dedication to Terri, they showed the nation and the world what it means when someone says they are ‘pro-life’,” said David N. O’Steen, Ph.D., National Right to Life Executive Director.
A public funeral mass for Mr. Schindler will be held Friday, September 4 in Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church, 611 Knowles Ave., Southampton, PA. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon followed by Mass at noon. The family will hold a private burial service immediately following mass at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Philadelphia, PA.
Visitation, Mass and interment will be closed to members of the media.
The family is also planning a memorial service in Florida where the Schindlers lived for many years. Details of the Florida memorial service have not yet been made public.
In lieu of flowers, the Schindler family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation to help protect people with cognitive brain injuries. The address is: The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, 5562 Central Avenue, Suite 2, St. Petersburg, FL 33707.
Teddy Kennedy died the other day
And now the liberal press is trying to reinvent him as some kind of a hero and upstanding American instead of the disgrace that he was.
My only question is, assuming he made his peace with God and is now gone to Heaven, what did he have to say to Mary Jo when he got there?
Died today at the age of 97
According to his daughter, he died at home, of natural causes. His family informed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences of his death; Malden served as the academy’s president from 1989-92.
Karl Malden made his screen debut in the 1940 movie “They Knew What They Wanted.” His career spanned over seven decades and he starred in such classic films as “A Streetcar Named Desire”, “On the Waterfront,” “One-Eyed Jacks,” “Baby Doll,” “How The West Was Won” and “Patton.”
His best-known role was probably as Lt. Mike Stone on the 1970s television crime drama, “The Streets of San Francisco,” with Michael Douglas. The series, which ran from 1972 to 1977, earned Malden four consecutive Emmy nominations as lead actor in a drama series. He was also well known for his years of American Express commercials. Don’t leave home without it!
NOT dead, despite rumors and/or expectations to the contrary: Rick Astley, Patrick Swayze, Jeff Goldblum, Natalie Portman, George Clooney, Brittney Spears and Harrison Ford.
In other news, Michael Jackson’s will was filed today — the one several sources were almost gleefully saying didn’t exist — and he’s left guardianship of his children to his mother with Diana Ross named as backup. His estate goes into a trust. And if you ask me, his doctors and nurses should be brought up on charges for releasing intimate details of his health, death and medical condition without the family’s authorization. Patient confidentiality shouldn’t go out the window just because he died. Leave the man some dignity for God’s sake.
