A woman's four-sentence obituary for her estranged mother has now gone viral after people seemingly took it as a joke. Christina Novak, 47, placed the obituary in the Kennebec Journal about her mother, Florence "Flo" Harrelson. Published on August 30, 2024, it reads, "Florence 'Flo' Harrelson, 65, formerly of Chelsea, died on February 22, 2024, without family by her side due to burnt bridges and a wake of destruction left in her path."
The obituary continued, "Florence did not want an obituary or anyone including family to know she died. That’s because even in death, she reportedly wanted those she terrorized to still be living in fear looking over their shoulders. So, this isn’t so much an obituary but more of a public service announcement."
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In an exclusive interview with People, Christina said she wanted to let people know just how serious the obituary was after many people seemed to think it was a joke.
"Let's be clear. It’s a PSA and it's no joke. It was written with sarcasm and relief, but it's real. It was done in four sentences because I refused to spend another dollar on that woman," she said.
Christina, who hadn't spoken to her mom in a decade, says that their family went months without even knowing her mother had died. She ended up making the discovery after a discussion with a friend about how it was "too quiet lately." So she Googled her mother’s name and found a death notice from a crematorium.
"I messaged my aunt, her identical twin sister, and I'm like, 'Did Mom die?' And she's like, 'I don’t know.' After some digging, I discovered it was her," she said.
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Christina recalls how cruel her mother was to her as a child growing up, even one time allegedly taking the daughter to a bridge with her partner and grabbing the girl's legs and arms and acting like they were going to throw her in the water. "I still can't drive over a bridge without getting an anxiety attack," she said.
After writing the obituary, Christina ran it past her aunt, who only replied with a typo correction. "Some people are like, 'Why even say anything? She's dead,'" the daughter said. But now that her mother is dead, "someone finally has got the power to say something."
