Short obituary for Maine woman who ‘burnt bridges’ goes viral

AUGUSTA, Maine (WJW) — A short and not-so-sweet obituary posted in a Maine newspaper last week is making national headlines and the daughter who penned the final tribute tells PEOPLE it’s “no joke.”

The obituary posted to the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentential website on Aug. 30 is just four sentences and accuses the 65-year-old deceased woman of burning bridges, terrorizing family and leaving a path of destruction.

It reads:

Florence “Flo” Harrelson, 65, formerly of Chelsea, died on Feb. 22, 2024, without family by her side due to burnt bridges and a wake of destruction left in her path.

Florence did not want an obituary or anyone including family to know she died. That’s because even in death, she 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.

In an interview with the Bangor Daily News , another Maine news outlet, the daughter who wrote the obituary said it had been more than a decade since the two had contact. She told the paper her mom had been diagnosed with cancer but died of heart failure.

The 47-year-old shared in detail with PEOPLE some of the ways her mother allegedly “took sport in ruining every birthday and Christmas.”

She also said she checked with family before publishing the obituary, which has now gone viral and has been shared by national media outlets.

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