Well, this is awkward.
Leroy "Blast" Bill Black of Egg Harbor Township, NJ, died of lung cancer at just 55 years old on Tuesday, August 2, 2016.
News of his passing was published in the Friday, August 5 edition of The Press Of Atlantic City… twice. The two obituaries appeared one on top of the other.
Readers at first assumed it was an accidental double printing — but then they realized the subtle yet important differences between the two obits: one was published by his wife, and the other was published by his girlfriend. And they were both slightly different.
The double obituary was no accident. The Philly Voice reported that a funeral home spokesperson said that the newspaper determined that two obituaries were necessary because "the wife wanted it one way, and the girlfriend wanted it another way." Rather than fight with the two women, who were already grieving, the paper decided to say yes to both of them.
The photo of the dueling obits is possibly the most talked about thing to come out of Atlantic City in a while…
Here's the obituary that Leroy's wife published:
In this version, he's survived by his "loving wife."
And here's the obituary that Leroy's girlfriend had printed:
In this version, Leroy is survived by his "longtime girlfriend."
Other than that, the obituaries are almost identical, although Leroy's girlfriend, Princess, noticeably makes no mention of his wife. She also includes details about his occupation that his wife left out.
Here's a photo of Leroy during happier times.
It looks like his wife managed to publish the obituary with Leroy’s funeral home. Services are being held this Sunday, August 7, at Greenidge Funeral Homes.
Egg Harbor Township may sound like a fictional soap opera setting, but it's actually a generally quiet township just 20 minutes outside of Atlantic City.
Please SHARE Leroy's story if you find that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction…
