‘Ding dong the witch is dead’: not all obituaries are rosy portrayals of the dead
Death notice in a small-town newspaper posted by the children of one Kathleen Dehmlow said ‘this world is a better place without her’
The obituary is short and decidedly unsweet, a grand total of 105 words spread over five increasingly savage paragraphs.
It starts with the birth of Kathleen Dehmlow (nee Schunk) in the winter of 1938 and her marriage to Dennis Dehmlow 19 years later, all in the tiny Minnesota city of Wabasso. Two children came from that marriage – Gina and Jay.
But the death notice quickly fast-forwards to 1962, apparently a pivotal year in the soap opera of Kathleen Dehmlow’s life – and her children’s.
“In 1962 she became pregnant by her husband’s brother Lyle Dehmlow and moved to California,” the obituary reads, spiralling. “She abandoned her children, Gina and Jay who were then raised by her parents in Clements, Mr and Mrs Joseph Schunk.”
By the fifth paragraph, it is clear what her children feel about their mother – and her chances in the hereafter.
For myself, it took her death to no longer fear her sudden and unexpected rants of abuse
“She passed away on May 31, 2018 in Springfield and will now face judgment. She will not be missed by Gina and Jay, and they understand that this world is a better place without her.”
