One widow took the phrase “celebration of life” literally after her husband’s untimely passing.
After her husband Brandon, 39, died of complications from a stroke on May 17, Katie Young scrapped the usual funeral service and wake and instead hosted a “FUNeral” in his honor.
“Every time I started thinking about planning a traditional funeral, I did not want to do it,” Young, 40, told South West News Service.
She added that she didn’t want her three kids — 12-year-old Eleanor, 10-year-old Clyde and 8-year-old Ingrid — to be traumatized by their dad’s funeral. Instead, she wanted them to look back on the event and remember their father.
“Each time I thought about planning a traditional funeral for Brandon, I grew physically ill. I could not stand the thought of sitting in a church and crying through speeches,” Young told Newsweek. “It would have been torture for my children and in turn would have been unbearable for me.”
Young told SWNS that “horrible memories” from a traditional funeral wouldn’t “feel true to Brandon.”
The 500-guest event — which was documented and shared by a friend in a viral TikTok video with 3 million views — was complete with a bouncy castle, arts and crafts, and a spread of Brandon’s favorite foods, namely chips and dip.
Her husband’s extensive art and album collection was given out as “goodie bags” to guests when they left.
“He had a giant record collection that he loved sharing with people who appreciated music, and so we let people look through his collection to take home a piece of him with them,” she told Newsweek.
Young wanted to guarantee that Brandon’s sendoff was a party he would have enjoyed attending rather than a sad affair.
“It was in his favorite place … our home …. with his favorite people … his family and friends,” Young told Newsweek. “It was SO Brandon it felt like he was there.”
She said that the “FUNeral” was a “perfect” representation of his personality and was overjoyed that her children spent the day smiling — rather than crying.
“The best part of the funeral was that the children had a smile on their faces. They will only have the happiest memories from their dad’s funeral, instead of it being traumatic,” the Phoenix, Arizona, mom told SWNS.
“Brandon loved being a dad more than anything on Earth — he would have been happy that his kids were happy.”
Young met her husband in 2007 and instantly was attracted to his curly hair and their shared love of music.
“He loved to tell the story about how we met — that I was waiting for him in his bed when he came home and he wasn’t wrong,” Young said, clarifying that she was watching a movie with his roommate and friends when they first set eyes on each other.
The couple married in March 2008 and enjoyed experimenting in the kitchen alongside one another and spending time together as a family.
“Some of my favorite memories are of us in the hospital after our kids were born — it felt like a sacred time,” she said.
