Obituary Rips Great-Grandma: 'Her Presence Will Not Be Missed'

Son thinks one of his sisters placed scathing death notice in NC newspaper
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 8, 2017 4:00 PM CDT

In the Deep South, a predilection for proper manners often means the temptation to tell someone off is replaced with a "Bless your heart." But an obituary that appeared last month in a North Carolina newspaper flouted politeness, and at least one family member isn't happy, KDVR reports. The death notice for Cornelia June Rogers Miller, who died in February, ran in Murphy's Cherokee Scout newspaper, and it wasn't a flattering depiction of the great-grandmother, who "died alone after a long battle with drug addiction and depression." "Drugs were a major love in her life as June had no hobbies, made no contribution to society, and rarely shared a kind word or deed in her life," the obituary says. "We speak for the majority of her family when we say her presence will not be missed by many, very few tears will be shed, and there will be no lamenting over her passing."

All of which has her son, Robert Miller, fuming—and he thinks he knows who placed the obituary. "It's unbelievable that my sisters would write this," he tells WTVC, noting his mom was a "loving, generous woman." WTVC managed to track down one of his two sisters, and she tells the station she didn't write the obituary, calling it "tragic." To make matters worse, it appears parts of the obituary may have been plagiarized from one written for someone in California in 2008. "[She] doesn't even have the integrity to write something for herself," Miller says, apparently referring to the sister he thinks trashed their mom. The Cherokee Scout publisher says the paper scans all submitted obituaries but notes they won't change anything unless there's a solid reason. "The family's will overrode the editor," he says. Miller says he sent in a new obituary to replace the printed one. (It's not the first scathing obituary.)

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