Richard "Dick" Ruth has gained a legion of fans online a month after his death. Photo / Harris Funeral Home
Richard "Dick" Ruth has gained a legion of fans online a month after his death. Photo / Harris Funeral Home
An obituary that took its writer 25 years to perfect has gone viral after a stranger stumbled across the “hilarious” death notice online.
Pennsylvania man Richard “Dick” Ruth died on August 20, just two months after celebrating his 100th birthday on June 13.
However, the dedicated Catholic and husband has since been immortalised by his very own eulogy – a self-written tribute hailed as “the best Catholic obituary ever”.
Sharing the link to his followers on September 20, Sciarappa wrote: “This is the best Catholic obituary ever. I don’t know Richard, but I’m definitely praying for him after reading it. Hilarious.”
Dick’s obit, a hilarious yet heart-warming chronicle of his century of life, quickly struck a chord with thousands of readers, many of whom flocked to the funeral home’s website to leave their condolences in his online guestbook.
Dick took a self-deprecating stance, opening the obit by poking fun at his soul making a “detour to Purgatory, where he will remain until he is purified enough to stand before his all-perfect maker”.
He also joked he had “a lot of self-respect” after he realised his late wife Dorothy had waited “50 years for that perfect man to come along and she settled for him”. Dick and Dorothy married on his 65th birthday in 1989 – which marked his first time tying the knot.
“He failed miserably in his youthful dream to fill his ‘uncle’ Babe Ruth’s baseball shoes,” Dick continued. “He was the proud eccentric life-long driver for 44 years of old, big used cars until he finally broke down and bought a new one.
“Well known for his German thriftiness (or if you wish, his Teutonic miserliness). Not for the money he hoarded, but for the things he saved.
“Benevolent grower of tulips and daffodils. Dick, who was influenced by the well-kept graves he saw in the cemeteries of Germany, worked hard through the years to keep the graves of his beloved dead well adorned with tulips in the spring, and summer flowers throughout the rest of the growing season.
“He hated violence and sex on TV, hence, he watched little or no TV.”
"He rated himself among the top 20 singers in the St. Benedict Parish, a view shared by almost no one". 😂 🤣
Dick’s eulogy continued: “He rated himself among the top 20 singers in the St Benedict Parish, a view shared by almost no one ... Well known for his heartfelt rendition of Danny Boy which he plans to sing at his own funeral, in spite of the fact that his voice has deteriorated.
“Dick was survived by neither a cat nor a dog. However, he was survived by a colony of squirrels and also by chipmunks who saw fit to claim his premises as their domain.
“Dick and Dorothy had no children and surprisingly enough, no grandchildren. But they had this consolation: none of their children or grandchildren are going to Hell! Not everyone can say this with such certainty.
“Dick was an eccentric, counter-cultural person. He had no interest in what the culture was interested in. His main interest, Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church (in spite of its many shortcomings), and the scripture.
“As stated by Dick, ‘To those who view my mortal remains, know thee this: I really was not this handsome while alive. It just goes to show you that Bill Harris and his staff know how to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear’,” Dick concluded.
“This obituary was crafted and written by Dick himself over the last 25 years. He proudly wrote it and revised it over the years so that it stated exactly what he wanted it to say.”
Richard "Dick" Ruth died two months after his 100th birthday but immortalised himself with a heart-warming obit that took 25 years to perfect. Photo / Harris Funeral Home
Dick’s words quickly proved popular among those who came across Sciarappa’s post on X, with one reader commenting: “Thank you for sharing. What a beautiful and witty obituary. I’m sure he was beloved by all who had the pleasure to know him.”
“What a wonderful tribute! You did good Mr Ruth,” said another, while a third wrote: “I read and enjoyed every word.”
Many of those moved by Dick’s words also took to the funeral home’s website to leave their thoughts in his guestbook. At the time of writing, Dick’s online obituary has been visited 47,872 times.
“Is it too late to ask Dick to write my obituary? Dick also now lives on Twitter. Hail and farewell,” one joked, with another writing: “I didn’t have the pleasure of knowing him, but after reading this, I know the world is darker without him.”
“Didn’t know Dick, but I wish I had. What a great Catholic! RIP, Dick. Know that you made my day today,” said another, while a fourth posted: “I did not know him, but I feel I know that he was a special person ... If he had a stop in purgatory, it was surely indeed short.”
“I never met the man before but I was thoroughly moved by his obituary. I will be praying for his soul and hope that I can live up to being half the man he was,” another declared.
According to the obit, Dick’s life was celebrated with a Catholic funeral on August 31, which began with visitation at Harris Funeral Home in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and was followed by Mass at St Benedict Catholic Church. He was buried at St Joseph Cemetery Mausoleum.
In lieu of flowers, Ruth requested all his “smoking friends” stop the habit for one day in his memory.
Eric A. Sauser, 43, died in his sleep after a battle with leukaemia, leaving behind his wife of 13 years Crystal Sauser – who was tasked with planning his funeral and writing his obituary.
“We think the cause of death was either leukaemia or more likely being ‘dead sexy’. Eric, we’ve always loved you and miss you already,” Sauser wrote.
Referring to herself as his “smoking hot wife”, Sauser added that her husband was “preceded in death by billions, including his dog Harvey who most of us loved to hate. We are confident they are joyfully reconnecting right now.”
For his funeral it was requested that mourners pay tribute by “jamming out to Ozzy Osbourne and raising a cold beer (preferably Busch Light) in celebration of Eric’s life”.
