Shine OnWisconsin woman’s obituary filled with inspiring life lessons goes viral
Mary Agnes "Pink" Mullaney, 85, passed away on Sept. 1, 2013.
Her obituary, first published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, is going viral — and making us wish we knew the sweet woman known as Pink.
"We wanted something that showed who she was," Mullaney's daughter, Maryanne, says of the inspirational obituary, to Newsline 9. "We said, how can we be like her and carry her pinkness across."
"She was an amazing woman. A very gentle, kind person," says longtime friend Ann Kenwood.
Mullaney is survived by six children and 17 grandchildren.
The affectionate death announcement is filled with Mullaney's greatest life lessons, starting with a very practical one: never throw away an old pair of pantyhose.
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"Use the old ones to tie gutters, childproof cabinets, tie toilet flappers, or hang Christmas ornaments," writes Mullaney's family.
The good advice doesn't just stop there.
"If a possum takes up residence in your shed, grab a barbecue brush to coax him out. If he doesn't leave, brush him for twenty minutes and let him stay."
Some of the lessons were poignant ones.
"Go to church with a chicken sandwich in your purse. Cry at the consecration, every time. Give the chicken sandwich to your homeless friend after mass."
Not sure what to do with your picky kids or grandkids? Mullaney had a great strategy:
"Put picky-eating children in the box at the bottom of the laundry chute, tell them they are hungry lions in a cage, and feed them veggies through the slats."
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Her family concludes:
"Those who've taken her lessons to heart will continue to ensure that a cold drink will be left for the overheated garbage collector and mail carrier, every baby will be kissed, every nursing home resident will be visited, the hungry will have a sandwich, the guest will have a warm bed and soft nightlight, and the encroaching possum will know the soothing sensation of a barbecue brush upon its back."
"We'd go to the grocery store with her and before she'd get out of the car we'd say, promise you won't stop and talk to everybody and kiss every baby. 'I can't make that promise,' she would say," her daughter Meg shares.
"The life that she lived should be an example to others," Maryanne tells Newsline 9.
Take the time to read the entire obituary here.
As the A.V. Club writes, "[It] will be the best thing you read all day."
For what do you hope to be remembered?
