Do any of you remember any tragi-comic incidents that have left you unsure whether to laugh or cry?
Here is one I remember: when my father-in-law reached the age of 93, he became senile and could no longer recognize his sons, except for my husband as we had daily contact.
One of his sons came up to visit him. S. was in his early sixties and had worked all his life in the laboratories of Messina University.
He was distressed when his father didn't know him so I stepped in, meaning to jog his memory, and said "Papà! You remember S. don't you? At Messina University?"
My father-inlaw looked his middle-aged son up and down, with a disgusted expression on his face, and retorted "What! Still?"
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Tragic/comic incidents
(66 Posts) We were scattering my DGF ashes in a place he loved, a park with a small stream running through it. He was dutifully scattered in the stream but sunk straight to the bottom. Family member piped up " He always was a good swimmer". Cue laughter from all adults and bewildered looks from younger family 
Years ago we were out with friends at a pub. It had been a while since we had seen them and I had put on some weight in the interim. The other husband sturned to mine and said “surely she’s at her fighting weight now?” Even I had to laugh as it WAS so witty!
My younger sister died in a road accident and only days after her death the family were all together at her house and for some reason my youngest sister had had to bring her two recently acquired rescue cats with her.
We had been round to the local bakery to get sandwiches for lunch and they were packed in paper bags. As we sat eating them, we heard an enormous crash from the kitchen and rushed out to see what had happened and found that one of the cats had got on the worktop and put his head right in one of the bags to get at the crumbs at the bottom - and then couldn't get his head out of the bag. He had then fallen off the worktop and was blundering round the kitchen with a paper bag on his head.
Suddenly we all collapsed into laughter, that became faintly hysterical, but it did us all a power of good.
My friend and I were at a funeral. When the coffin was carried in it was made of wicker. It creaked as it passed us and my friends shoulders were bobbing up and down while she was helplessly (silently) giggling. I whispered “what’s funny?”
“It reminds me of a picnic basket”!
On a very cold December day family were waiting for cars to take us to the crematorium for my dad's funeral. Cars arrived and I was rushing around looking for my hat, it was a heavy fur pillbox type ( fur wasn't a problem in the 70's ) I hunted high and low and saw " patches " of it here and there in mum's front room.
I then went into the back kitchen to see her dog " worrying " it. Mum was at the point of collapse at the state of my hat and undeterred, as is my nature, I picked up the hat and stuck two large safety pins inside it as the top was flapping open and had come away from the rim.
Slightly bald in parts I just plonked it on my head as it was bitterly cold and even colder at the crem. but poor mum took her all her time to contain herself, especially when one guest said " it was a good job you found your hat " .
My mother suffered from depression, Parkinsons and then Dementia. Towards the end she had to go into a nursing home, and did not recognise me when I went in to visit. But she obviously twigged that I had been someone special in her life, and after drinking half her tea, poured it into the saucer and offered it to me. She thought I was her dog!!!!
I was actually really touched, because she loved her dog so much!
We are from an old fashioned church in the Black Country, where a few more 'unrestrained' ladies joined the congregation. At my lovely Dad's rather formal funeral, they shouted 'halleluiah' every time they agreed with something said in the service. It reduced a whole row of adult nephews to jelly.
We still laugh about it.
Stood outside crematorium and youngest daughter pipes up what’s is that smell Mum!!
The smoke!
we were travelling in the follow up car behind the herse for my uncle’s funeral when my cousin tapped the driver on the shoulder and said - goodness this is taking forever, it would have been much quicker round the bypass. All you could hear was stifled giggles.
My grandmother was late for her own funeral in the late 1980s... hearse broke down about 100 miles away from where she was being buried and then lots of fun crossing the border in Northern Ireland...
When my father was dying in the care home the manager asked me who they should call if I wasn't there when he died. I gave my answer and she said oh have you thought of so and so they are very good - we use them a lot. It made me chuckle!
I was thanked profusely by a widow for attending her late husband's funeral. As we hadn't seen each other for some time she hadn't expected me to be there. I replied ' Of course I would come, I wouldn't have missed it for the world!' I'll never forget the angry glare her daughter gave me! 
At my Father in law's funeral the Minister did the usual 'Ashes to ashes' speech and I noticed my Mum in law's shoulders shaking, same thing with both my sisters in law. Glancing at my husband I saw he was biting his lip. I put it down to being upset at the loss they had had but, on the way home when I mentioned how upset everyone had seemed, my husband started to laugh. He explained that his Dad had had a rather rude version of the same speech that he used to recite and that, far from crying, they were trying their best not to laugh out loud!
My brother and I got a fit of the silent giggles at my mothers funeral much to my sisters disgust. She hadn’t noticed that the order of service said the coffin would leave followed by the bears!
On holiday in The Lakes some years ago my late husband bought an expensive all weather jacket which he proudly wore all week. Sadly he died suddenly a few days after we came home and on looking at the holiday photos my grandson then aged about six said "Didn't get much wear out of his jacket, did he?"
B9exchange lol 
On the morning of my mum's funeral the priest rang me up to ask what her maiden name was - I replied 'Speke' so he shouted the question again. It did lighten my mood somewhat.
At my mother in law's funeral in Ireland, a village affair, everyone attended. One of the locals (not very bright) attempted to jump over the still open grave. He fell in, landing on the coffin and had to be hauled out. Even my MIL would have laughed.
dragonfly46 I think that some care homes have 'an arrangement' with certain funeral directors, and try to steer people to them.
Mouse We had the same experience when we noticed that the hymn had been printed as "Lord of all hopelessness!"
Greengran Yes maybe it was that although they were the nearest and also the nearest for the GP to visit so it made sense. I was more than satisfied anyway so no harm done.
My father's name was Albert, he hated that name and was always Bert. If anyone got it wrong he would correct them.
When the vicar called him Albert, during his funeral , I had images of the lid opening, him sitting up saying "Bert" and lying down again peacefully.....lid slowly shutting. ( he would have enjoyed that image. )
I chose the music from Chariots of Fire to be played when my mother's coffin left the church after the service. I was telling a friend this and then realised that she would then be on her way to the crematorium! Oh no I said I can't do that, the friend said that's your mother's sense of humour coming through, so I went ahead with said music.
At my DFiL's funeral my ex sister in law appeared in a big shining white surplice, she was a vicar and very sanctimonious and was taking the service. She had put on a lot of weight and the effect was a large white ball. 'Stately as a galleon' I muttered to my daughter, Shh she said. 'Looks like a Dalek' I countered, didn't go down well with DD, who was being on best behaviour that day. DS would have fallen about, but he was pall bearing and having to behave.
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