A son’s hilarious eulogy for his late father has gone viral.
Charles Boehm, 41, wrote the scathing and sarcastic tribute last week, days after the death of Robert Adolph Boehm, 74.
The anecdotes contained, which at times border on the offensive, paint the picture of a cantankerous old trucker who died cursing in his Clarendon, Texas, apartment on October 6.
The 585-word memory emerges from there, with all the tact of a full-court press.
The resulting pranks are ones only a son can deliver and have drawn hundreds of eyeballs. It begins with one of many jabs intended to satirize the man in question, written by his son under the veneer of a smile..
Charles Boehm, 41, wrote the scathing and sarcastic tribute last week, days after the death of Robert Adolph Boehm, 74.
Robert is seen here with his late wife Dianne, daughter-in-law Kim and son Charles during the best of days.
“Robert Adolph Boehm, in keeping with his lifelong dedication to his own personal style of decorum, muttered his final unintelligible and probably unnecessary curse on October 6, 2024,” Boehm begins.
“(This happened) shortly before he tripped backwards on ‘some stupid thing’ and hit his head on the ground,” he adds.
Boehm proceeds to delve into the nitty-gritty of his father’s life, including how he impregnated and married his mother Dianne as a teenager before eventually becoming a full-time truck driver.
This allowed him to be exempt from mandatory military service for the Vietnam War, a point that Boehm is clear about when he set out to prepare a merciless barbecue.
He wrote how after the birth of his older brother and two sisters, Robert, “possibly concerned about the conflict brewing in Grenada”, had a fourth child: himself.
“This lack of military service was probably for the best, since when he took up shooting as a hobby in his later years, he managed to put not one, but two holes in the dashboard of his own car on two separate occasions,” Boehm writes. .
“(This) unfortunately did not even frighten, let alone surprise, his dear wife Dianne, who was very used to such occurrences in his presence and, in fact, may have been safer in the jungles of Vietnam all along.”
The Texas native, who said he was inspired by a similarly unforgiving obituary he saw in 2019, went on to recall Robert’s exploits as a young father “while the world was in conflict elsewhere,” which included learning to roof and maintaining signs traffic.
Boehm told the Washington Post that the tribute was done in jest and that his father was working with the community after being left out of his depth following the death of his wife in February.
Robert then embarked on a career as a semi-professional truck driver, an occupation that Boehm denies “should not be confused with that of a semi-professional truck driver.”
Amid this life of peace, “Robert’s attention, somewhat counterintuitively, was diverted to weapons of war,” Boehm recalls, writing how his father began collecting weapons used in conflicts throughout history.
“There are so many examples of these conventional amateur articles scattered around his small apartment in Clarendon, Texas, that one of them may well have been the article referenced in his aforementioned eloquent final epitaph,” he then quips.
“He also had a penchant for fashion, and was frequently seen around town wearing the latest trend in homemade leather moccasins, a wide collection of unconventional hats, and boldly mismatched shirts and pants.”
Boehm goes on to recall that his father also had a wide selection of harmonicas on hand.
However, these “were not for personal play,” the mourning man wrote, but rather to “incite his beloved dogs to howl continually at ungodly hours of the night to entertain his numerous neighbors.”
Other times he gave the hand instruments to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, “so they could play them loudly during long road trips with their parents,” Boehm recalls ruefully.
Then the article turns somewhat serious, pointing out how Robert’s wife of more than half a century, his mother, died last February.
“We’ve all done our best to enjoy and overcome Robert’s antics up to this point, but now it’s God’s problem,” Boehm concluded, drawing attention to the retired trucker’s checkered legacy.
The moment, however, is only fleeting, and Boehm will categorize the event as “God finally shows mercy” – by “taking her out of (her home) to enjoy some well-deserved peace and quiet.”
This left Robert without Dianne to cheerfully entertain, his son writes, describing how the retired truck driver “shifted his creative focus toward entertaining you, the fine inhabitants of Clarendon.”
“Over the last eight months, if you haven’t met Robert or seen his tour yet, you probably will soon,” he says of his father’s most recent activities.
“We’ve all done our best to enjoy and weather Robert’s antics up to this point, but now it’s God’s problem.”
The family held a funeral in Amarillo on Monday, a few days after the obituary, Boehm’s first, was published.
Since then countless comments have poured in, all singing songs of praise.
The story was later taken up by washington mailwho later interviewed Boehm.
He said the tribute was made in jest for a man he loved deeply and who was left beside himself after finding himself without his wife of so many years.
“I have to say that if I want anything to come out of all of this, it’s for people everywhere to support the mental health of people in small rural towns,” Boehm said. ‘They go there to retire, then when they are older, their children scatter and end up alone. Many people go unnoticed.
“I have to say that if I want anything to come out of all of this, it’s for people everywhere to support the mental health of people in small rural towns,” Boehm said.
‘They go there to retire, then when they are older, their children scatter and end up alone. Many people go unnoticed.
He told the newspaper that “we have to take care of them.”
DailyMail.com has contacted Boehm for comment.
