Laconic Swede files ‘I’m dead’ obituary

Stig Kernell wanted to do things his way and instructed his local funeral home in Tranås, southern Sweden to publish the advert on his death including the simple message, his name, place and date of death.

 

He felt that was all that needed to be said, his son Lars-Åke Kernell told the Expressen daily. 

 

"He was a special man with a lot of humour and a twinkle in his eye… It has helped us to cope with the loss of him, in that he was not at all scared of death."

 

The aerospace historian and transport technician from Tranås died on April 6th, aged 92. The slightly unusual obituary was published in Saturday's Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet. 

 

The modest message did not pass unnoticed however and several newspapers carried the story of the compact and bijou obituary over the weekend leading to a few more details of the nanogenarian's life emerging regardless of his wishes.

 

According to the Expressen report he was an active man and member of 33 different associations during his long lifetime. He had a pilot's licence and furthermore had previously featured in the Guinness Book of World Records thanks to his expansive collection of aviation literature.

 

His two sons, concerned that his offbeat obituary may be construed as indicating a residual bitterness in death, decided furthermore to tell the story of their father's life in a more traditional form in a lengthier obituary published in the Tranås local newspaper.