Laughing in the face of death is often ‘just what the doctor ordered’ because humor can be a powerful weapon against grief—and one widow’s wise-cracking obituary went viral because we all want that prescription.
The devoted wife in Omaha, Nebraska, chose to transform her despair into an affirmation of giggles in the epitaph she wrote for her “dead sexy husband”.
Crystal and Eric Sauser were married for 13 years until on February 26, Eric lost a two-year battle with cancer.
One of the things Crystal holds most dear about her husband Eric was his uniquely warm and quirky sense of humor. When it came time to write his obituary, the standard death notice templates just wouldn’t do. She needed something less-than-grave.
Deciding to depart from convention, Crystal penned an elegy that instead spoke to the exceptional kind of man Eric truly was. “His departure was just in time for him to make his spiritual appearance at every Red Sox spring game,” she observed. “If you knew Eric, you knew you were loved, and there is a good chance he told you that—probably sober, but maybe not.”
She also wryly listed her husband’s priorities: “Eric loved, in this order: his smoking hot wife, his brilliant kids and family, his many friends, the Boston Red Sox, the Kansas City Chiefs (before being a Chiefs fan was cool), the Huskers, Liverpool Futbol, QT iced tea, Adidas sneakers, fishing, backpacking, hiking, hunting, and any old Chevy he saw on the road.”
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In terms of the memorial service being held March 4, she wrote: “Admission is free to all who attend this once in a lifetime show for the greatest man on earth. Following the Service, the family requests jamming out to Ozzy Osborne and raising a cold beer (preferably Busch Light) in celebration of Eric’s life.
“In lieu of flowers, please pray that the Huskers have a winning season..”
After the obituary was published online, Crystal was surprised to learn that the post had gone viral. While she thinks Eric might have been a bit embarrassed, he would have very much appreciated the way in which she’d captured his spirit.
“He would be happy that this story is generating inspiration and love,” she told Good Morning America. “If there’s anything Eric and I can do, it’s send some love out there.”
And there’s no better way to be remembered than that.
R.I.P. Eric ~ God Bless You Crystal ~