It's not because we take our job seriously that we can't joke around. In this regard, funeral home employees are often good examples. Francis Bajkowski, who was a funeral advisor in Auchy-les-Mines for a long time, and is now retired, is not short of anecdotes. For example, he recounts the fall of a “ elderly lady » who approached the vault: “ Is this where we're going to put my husband? » she asked. “ And then, without me being able to do anything, she slipped and fell in! » says Mr. Bajkowski. Fortunately, the widow was not hurt.
He also remembers a laugh he had in a church. Here again, it is about a lady who has just lost her husband. She prepares to bless the coffin of the deceased with incense, begins the sign of the cross but “ the bottle brush escapes him and goes into the middle of the church ». The situation causes a “ laugh under your breath » among funeral home employees who have difficulty holding back.
I broke down. Crazy laugh. I had to hide behind a pilaster.
Francis Bajkowski tells his colleague: “ Go get the meter, we'll measure the jet. “Then he completely breaks down when he sees the widow” on all fours looking for the bottle brush ». « I broke down. Crazy laugh. I had to hide behind a pilaster. » He laughs so much that he lets a few tears escape. “ There, two ladies pass by and say ''tYou realize, even the funeral directors cry.’”
Recover the piercing
The following anecdotes are delivered by undertakers or funeral advisors who are still active and who prefer to remain anonymous. One of them recounts that one of his colleagues responsible for preparing the bodies made a funny discovery one day: “ My tanatho takes care of a deceased person and the gentleman had a piercing on his penis. » A family jewel that mattered because the next day, the widow came to claim it. “ They were in their 80s », specifies the advisor.
Francis Bajkowski also already had a funny surprise in a funeral chamber: “ Previously, we put the deceased on a refrigerated table,” he explains. “On mine, there was a disconnected wire and the deceased person’s hair stood up. » A funny image. “ I got quite a beating the next day! » he adds.
Brawl at the cemetery
If laughter can arise in moments of contemplation, so can anger. As evidenced by the anecdote of the owner of a funeral home near Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, who remembers having already witnessed a fight in the middle of a cemetery: “ They were fighting over the inheritance but there was already a family feud behind it. That day, these people lost all dignity. »
Another remembers a funeral that ended up in the emergency room: “ A family member of the deceased ran over the foot of another person present. The injured man was taken away by firefighters and was unable to participate in the burial.. »
