Daughters hold ‘party funeral’ for deceased mother
theGRIO REPORT - Family and friends of Miriam Burbank describe her as "full of life" and a "party girl." So Burbanks daughters wanted her funeral to be all that and more. They decided to go 'non-traditional' and, simply put, throw a party...
Family and friends of Miriam Burbank describe her as “full of life” and a “party girl.”
So Burbank’s daughters wanted her funeral to be all that and more. They decided to go “non-traditional” and, simply put, throw their mother a party.
With the help of New Orleans-based Charbonnet Funeral Home, the daughters arranged for their mother’s “homegoing” to display the deceased 53-year-old at a table surrounded by cigarettes, beer and two disco balls hanging overhead.
Burbank passed away on June 1 and was a native and resident of New Orleans. She is known for frequenting the city’s bars and supporting the Saints football team.
One of Burbank’s daughters, Sherline, told WGNO’s Darian Trotter her mother would have appreciated her ceremony:
When I walked in, I felt like I was in her house. And I don’t hurt so much. Because it’s more her and it’s not like she’s dead. It’s not like a funeral. It’s like she’s just in the room with us.
Lyelle Bellard is intern funeral director at Charbonnet and the funeral home’s community liason. He told WGNO’s Trotter that Burbank’s service was reflective of what the family wanted.
“We celebrate life,” Bellard said in the WGNO report. “We celebrate the passing. We celebrate the homegoing of people.”
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