Garrett Mathias was only 5 years old when he passed away from cancer earlier this month – but not before he was able to leave behind some humor and fun for his family and community.
The boy from Urbandale, Iowa was diagnosed with a rare form of pediatric cancer nine months ago. Despite being treated for the illness, he was given a terminal prognosis.
So as a means of helping him to write his own obituary, his parents sat down with Garrett and asked him several questions about his life and funeral requests. The obit is now getting national attention for its humor and simple wisdom.
For starters, Garrett identifies himself using his pseudonym, which is “The Great Garrett Underpants”. He goes on to say that his favorite people in the world are his family members and Batman. His says that his favorite things are “playing with my sister, my blue bunny, thrash metal, Legos, my daycare friends, Batman and when they put me to sleep before they access my port.”
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His dislikes are “pants!, dirty stupid cancer, when they access my port, and needles.”
When he dies, he says: “I am going to be a gorilla and throw poo at Daddy!”
He also adds that “I want to be burned (like when Thor’s Mommy died) and made into a tree so I can live in it when I’m a gorilla.”
Finally, to top off the unusual obit, Garrett says that “funerals are sad” and he would rather have a fun celebration of life with snowcones, 5 bouncy castles – one for each year of his life – and an appearance from Batman.
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He also finished up the interview with a final remark: “See ya later, suckas!”
On Saturday, his parents held the funeral with all of the youngster’s requests – and they’re glad that they did.
Instead of having to stand in a church for several hours, Garrett’s family, friends, and community enjoyed a “Celebration of Life” featuring superhero appearances, snowcones, fireworks, face painting, and a symbolic Asgardian viking funeral with flaming arrows.
“A private burial of Garrett’s ashes will be held at a later time once his parents figure out how the hell to get his ashes made into a tree and locate a nature preserve, so his tree resides in a protected area,” wrote the family.
If you’d like to donate to the Mathias family fundraiser, you can visit their GoFundMe page.
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The Asgardian viking funeral really hit me in the feels. Such a wonderful way to remember a beautiful boy’s life!