"We forgive characters like my mother because we need them. Published by Fayetteville Observer from Aug. "The important thing always is to take your pain and turn it into art," he said. "Some people are going to look at her and say, 'Fight more, brawl more, love more, screw around more, move, lose things, go bankrupt, invest and fail.'"Īndy Corren said he plans to write a collection of short stories about his mother. "She was a party girl until the end," he said. Renay Corren "was a ton of fun to hang out with," her son said. She had a very busy middle finger, and who can’t relate?" When there is so much complexity and mortality and there is no solution seemingly in sight, a story like my mom's makes you feel good. "I think we are living in extraordinary times where simple and authentic and funny things are few and far between," he said.
#Fayetteville observer obituaries series#
The 84-year-old mother of six, who lived in North Carolina from 1967 to 2007, died following a series of complex health struggles that included diabetes, sepsis and pneumonia.Īndy Corren, who grew up in Fayetteville and earned a degree from the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, said he planned to send the tribute to family and friends because his mother had lived so many places. "Hers was a bawdy, rowdy life lived large, broke and loud. Renay Corren's obituary opens with the line, "A plus-sized Jewish lady redneck died in El Paso on Saturday," and rolls on from there to describe her love of trashy novels, financial problems, lack of domestic skills and fondness for cribbage and bowling. We loved you to bits."It's just the truth, and that's what I wanted to go for," Andy Corren, who lives in New York, said Friday. “The family requests absolutely zero privacy or propriety, none whatsoever, and in fact encourages you to spend some government money today on a one-armed bandit, at the blackjack table or on a cheap cruise to find our inheritance,” he writes. Meanwhile, Mr Corren says he and his five siblings have given up on receiving an inheritance. The obituary concludes with details of a planned funeral service in May next year, “a very disrespectful and totally non-denominational memorial … most likely at a bowling alley in Fayetteville.” She lived her final days “under the care, compassion, checking accounts and, evidently, unlimited patience of her favorite son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Lourdes Corren, of world-famous cow sanctuary El Paso.”Īmong the numerous family members she leaves behind, including children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, is her “favorite son”, namely “the gay one who writes catty obituaries in his spare time, Andy Corren, of – obviously – New York City.” Here’s what Renay was great at: dyeing her red roots, weekly manicures, dirty jokes, pier fishing, rolling joints and buying dirty magazines.”
“Renay didn’t cook, she didn’t clean, and she was lousy with money, too. It also lists her many talents: “She played cards like a shark, bowled and played cribbage like a pro, and laughed with the boys until the wee hours, long after the last pin dropped.”
Neither could pneumonia twice, infections, blood clots, bad feet, breast cancer twice, two mastectomies, two recessions, multiple bankruptcies, marriage to a philandering Sergeant Major, divorce in the 70s, six kids, one cesarean, a few abortions from the Quietly Famous Abortionist of Spring Lake, NC or an affair with Larry King in the 60s.” “Renay has been toying with death for decades, but always beating it and running off in her silver Chevy Nova,” the obituary states. But the banter represents a loving tribute to a lady they still can’t quite believe has actually died.
The tribute to a mother known fondly to her family as “Rosie” is a partly tongue-in-cheek account of a long and eventful life, liberally sprinkled with anecdotes and encounters, some of which Mr Corren admits might not even be true. The remarkable – and hilarious – 1,000-word obituary was written by Corren’s son Andy, and quickly went viral after it was published on Wednesday. They include her birthplace of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, “where she first fell in love with ham, and atheism” Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, “where Renay’s dreams, credit rating and marriage are all buried” and Miami, Florida, “where Renay’s parents, uncles, aunts, and eternal hopes of all Miami Dolphins fans everywhere, are all buried pretty deep”.
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