Swedish paper prints obituary for living man

Sven-Olof Svensson, 81, from Jönköping was admitted to hospital on Christmas Eve feeling unwell. His older sister, who is 90, spoke with the doctor over the phone and got the impression that her brother had passed away. 

She quickly began writing an obituary along with friend Lars Fältskog which was published in the the local Jönköpings-Posten newspaper on New Year's Eve.

However, Fältskog got a shock when he arrived at the hospital on January 3rd to collect his friend's personal items only to be told he was sitting up in bed and on the mend.

"You can see the humour in it. It's understandable to me that there may have been a mistake even if it was fatal in this case," a very much alive Sven-Olof Svensson told the Jönköpings-Posten.

He added; "According to my sister she rang up the doctors and talked about me and, as she understood it, I had died. It's clear that she was shocked," he said.

The 81-year-old laughed off the six-feet blunder which has taken in good spirits by welcoming a reporter from the Jönköpings-Posten for a follow-up article.

When asked how he reacted when he read his own life summed up in paper he said "you don't feel much."

"We are all on the same road. Sooner or later you are going to end up in the obituary section. I've lived a fantastic long life, I'm 81 and can't complain about my age."

In a further twist Svensson was listed in the paper on January 7th on the recently deceased page.

Laughing the whole saga off, Svensson said he was feeling much better and quipped in homage to Mark Twain that "rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

Last year a woman in western Sweden had a fake obituary printed about her which prompted newspaper to ramp up the rules confirming details about deaths before going to print.  

The Local/pr