The obituary for Chris Connors went viral. Photo / Chris Connors Fund
The obituary for Chris Connors went viral. Photo / Chris Connors Fund
It starts with the headline "Irishman dies from stubbornness, whiskey", and Chris Conners' obit is as hilarious and wonderful as the life he lived.
While many were not lucky enough to know Connors in real life, news of the 67-year-old's death in the tiny US town of York, Maine has travelled around the world thanks to a hilarious obituary written by his daughter and friend, news.com.au reported.
"Chris Connors died, at age 67, after trying to box his bikini-clad hospice nurse just moments earlier," the obituary announced.
'Ladies man, game slayer and outlaw'. Photo / Chris Connors Fund
"Ladies man, game slayer, and outlaw Connors told his last inappropriate joke on Friday, December 9, 2016, that which cannot be printed here."
The obituary, which has gone viral, said Conners died just like he lived, by writing his own rules.
"Anyone else fighting ALS and stage 4 pancreatic cancer would have gone quietly into the night, but Connors was stark naked drinking Veuve in a house full of friends and family as Al Green played from the speakers," the obit said.
"Chris enjoyed cross dressing, a well-made fire, and mashed potatoes with lots of butter.
His regrets were few, but include eating a rotisserie hot dog from an unmemorable convenience store in the summer of 1986."
The obit was published in on Seacoastonline, as well as the Portsmouth Herald and York Weekly. Photo / Supplied
Daughter Caitlin Connors, who wrote the obit over cocktails with her cousin Elizabeth, said it was all true.
"When he was on hospice, a friend of the family, who is just as crazy, was bikini-clad when she would help administer his medication," she told the Seacoastonline.com, which also published the obituary.
The obit details a life full of adventures, including Mr Connors starting a career on Wall Street without a financial background but instead with "an intelligent, impish smile, love for the spoken word, irreverent sense of humour, and stunning blue eyes that could make anyone fall in love with him".
He also spent 40 hours on a life raft off the coast of Panama and sustained a wound after saving a woman from being mugged in New York City.
"He was a rare combination of someone who had a love of life and a firm understanding of what was important - the simplicity of living a life with those you love," the obit said.
The only line written by Chris Connors was that he grabbed life "by the lapels, kissed it, and swung it back onto the dance floor".
His widow, Emily Connors said her husband had wanted a funny obituary and would have loved it going viral.
"He would've loved it," Mrs Connors said. "He would've laughed. He's definitely looking down at us."
Chris Connors loved life ... and whiskey. Photo / Supplied
The obit talks about Mr Connors' love of family and also notes: "Absolut vodka and Simply Orange companies are devastated by the loss of Connors".
After his obit went viral, many who never knew him, have shared in the family's pain and seen donations to a water safety fund grow to $10,000.
