Why a Quirky Obituary for a 74-Year-Old Texas Dad Is Going Viral

One family is honoring their dad’s legacy in a unique—and hilarious—way.

After Robert Adolph Boehm passed away Oct. 6 at the age of 74 from a fall in his Clarendon, Texas, apartment, his son Charles Boehm was left wondering how to write his obituary. After some internet searching on what to do, he decided to match the energy he felt his dad exuded while alive.

“There are some people who might think it was irreverent and offensive, but I think it sounds about perfect,” Charles told The Washington Post in an interview published Oct. 16. “To me, it pretty much describes my dad.”

In the comical obituary, the 41-year-old described his father as “God’s problem now.”

“Robert Adolph Boehm, in accordance with his lifelong dedication to his own personal brand of decorum,” he wrote, “muttered his last unintelligible and likely unnecessary curse on October 6, 2024, shortly before tripping backward over ‘some stupid mother****ing thing’ and hitting his head on the floor.”

Charles then described his father’s love of historical weapons that sprouted after Robert successfully avoided being drafted to the Vietnam War, which was “probably for the best” due to his later-in-life shooting hobby that led to multiple bullet holes in his car’s dashboard. Beyond shooting, it seems Robert had a “penchant for fashion,” although Charles sarcastically described his father’s wardrobe as filled with “homemade leather moccasins” and “boldly mismatched shirts and pants.”

“Robert also kept a wide selection of harmonicas on hand,” Charles continued. “Not to play personally, but to prompt his beloved dogs to howl continuously at odd hours of the night to entertain his many neighbors.”

After Charles posted the comedic reflection of Robert’s life online, the obituary has soared to over one million views, according to Robertson Funeral Directors, the mortuary that performed the services for the Boehm family.

“Clarendon is a town of 2,000 people,” owner Chuck Robertson told The Washington Post. “I knew a lot of people would love it, but I was shocked when it really started to blow up.” 

In response to all of laughs and visibility from strangers, Charles hopes that others will remember to take elder care seriously.

“If I want anything to come from all of this, it’s for people everywhere to support the mental health of people in little rural towns,” Charles shared. “They go there to retire, then when they’re old, their kids scatter and they end up alone. A lot of people slip through the cracks. There are people all over the country like my dad. We need to look after them.”

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