Last laugh: Daughter writes humorous obituary to honor father's life of pranking others

God "thankfully broke the mold," when Joseph A. Heller Jr. was born, according to a humorous obituary written by his daughter to honor the unorthodox life of a lifelong prankster.

Heller, 82, died Sunday in Connecticut after "a lifetime of frugality, hoarding and cheap mischief, often at the expense of others."

Heller's daughter, Monique Heller, wrote the obituary, according to CNN.

"My dad has an unorthodox view of life, and I wanted to honor him and make people smile," Monique Heller told the cable news network.

When doctors told Joseph Heller's daughters, "Your father is a very sick man," they said "in unison," 'You have no idea,'" Monique Heller wrote.

Joseph Heller served in the Navy as a Seabee and later met his wife, Irene, when he was a self-taught chemist, according to Stars and Stripes.

Monique Heller wrote that her father embarrassed his wife daily with his words and wardrobe but added she was the love of his life, People reported.

"(Irene) was hoodwinked into thinking he was a charming individual with decorum. Boy, was she ever wrong," the obituary reads. "To this day, we do not understand how he convinced our mother, an exceedingly proper woman and a pillar in her church, to sew and create the colorful costumes and props which he used for his antics."

Other pranks Joseph Heller executed included naming his dog Fart and thwarting lunch thieves with "laxative-laced chocolate cake."

His daughters' dates were scrutinized, as Joseph Heller would run their license plates and check for bald tires, Monique Heller wrote. If they passed muster they were invited into the house, where Jopseh Heller had an ample supply of shotguns and harpoons.

Joseph Heller also made sure his daughters' "moral fibers were enriched by both Archie Bunker and Benny Hill."

And finally, for Friday's funeral, mourners were encouraged to "don the most inappropriate T-shirt that you are comfortable being seen in public with as Joe often did."

There is no doubt there will be plenty of Joe stories at the funeral in Centerbrook Cemetery.

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