A family aired its grievances against a relative in a now-viral obituary, making national headlines and sparking a debate on social media.
According to the Star Tribune, the Redwood Falls Gazette published an obituary Monday for Springfield, Minnesota, resident Kathleen Dehmlow, who died Thursday at 80 years old.
The obit, which the Gazette said was submitted and paid for by Dehmlow's family, alleged that she had an affair with her husband's brother, got pregnant and "abandoned" her two other children, Gina and Jay, the Star Tribune reported.
"She passed away on May 31, 2018 in Springfield and will now face judgement (sic)," the obituary said, adding, "She will not be missed by Gina and Jay, and they understand that this world is a better place without her."
The obituary quickly circulated online, appearing in articles by USA Today, the Washington Post, Fox News and other national outlets. Meanwhile, readers posted complaints and debated whether negative obituaries should be published.
"You should be absolutely ashamed of yourself for allowing the obituary of Kathleen Dehmlow to be published," one Facebook user wrote on the Gazette's page, according to Minnesota Public Radio. "Everyone deserves respect and dignity in death."
The Gazette replied: "Most people at the Gazette, including the editor, protested running the obit, but were overruled." The newspaper did not say who overruled the decision.
The Gazette removed the obituary from its website Tuesday.
Dwight Dehmlow, who is related to Kathleen but did not say how, blasted the obituary writer for deciding "to go out with hate," the Star Tribune reported.
He said the allegations against Dehmlow were true but added that "there is a lot of stuff that is missing."
"The sad thing about this is there is no rebuttal," he told the newspaper. "There is more to it than this. It's not simple."
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