Parting is such sweet sorrow. That is especially true, of course, when you’ve been buried inside a giant M&M, as was the dying wish of the matriarch of the Roundtree family, Mary Esther Stocks Martin Gaily.
Yes, a family has buried their grandmother inside a special-made candy-themed casket, to celebrate her memory and her love for the characters.
This story is a lot sweeter than you may expect it to be, with the entire family taking part in what their grandmother truly loved.
According to her grandson, TikTok user Scott Roundtree, this was actually something that the grandmother herself designed long ago, had made, and sat in her house for years before the day came when the family used it to lay their beloved matriarch to rest.
“Her name was Mary Ester Stocks Martin Gaily and my husband Tom is the one who built her casket,” family member Lisa Richardson told me on Twitter. “We will miss her. She was fun right to the end and this is the casket she designed with her son.”
“My uncle made it by hand,” Roundtree wrote in response to TikTok user Heather Frazier, who asked for the origin of the casket. “And she designed it years ago. She loved how it turned out. It sat in her house for years.”
The news quickly travelled through the app this morning.
“Grandma, you can now rest peacefully. I love you. You were right we all loved your casket,” Roundtree wrote as a caption, including a carousel of photographs of the funeral set to the tune of “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth.
At the funeral, the family each dressed up in different t-shirts and hats featuring M&M’s characters and hats.
According to Bill Martin, who got in touch with me through Twitter, “Her name through 30 years as a teacher was Mary Martin. Her students would bring her M&M candies and small M&M toys which resulted in a large M&M collection. The casket is a tribute to the over 5000 students she taught throughout her career. She will be missed.”
Watch the TikTok of the M&Ms-themed casket below
https://www.tiktok.com/@itsmeroundtree/video/7201874291946802474
Also included was the photo of the giant blue M&M located on the casket, which, based on its shape and relation to the famed yellow candy, is likely of the peanut variety.
Adorning the casket, surrounded by her family, are nine red roses, two M&M’s hats (one red and one green), and an assortment of the candy itself, each adorned with the names of what can be assumed to be her six children and 57 grandchildren.
Her children, Carl, Sandy, Steve, Billy, Cindy and Danny, and her grandchildren Doug, Billy, Rocky, Allie, Ashlee, and many more.
The M&M has its eyes closed and its hands laid across its stomach, signaling that it is a representation of the deceased.
“Crazy to see someone living my dream,” commented Twitter user @notsofiacoppola and known M&M-enthusiast Sophia Blake.
Surprisingly for some (me) this is not the first time an M&M’s casket has been created. Previously, the yellow M&M character was used in a casket ad for Halloween.
We wish the Roundtree and Gaily family condolences for their loss, and hope that this very unique funeral is able to bring a smile to the faces that this woman clearly did throughout her life.
Update: I heard from Lisa Richardson, whose husband Tom built the casket. Thank you Lisa!
Rest in peace, Grandma Gaily!