Son Writes Hilariously “Catty” Obituary for “Brightly-Frocked, Frivolous, Singularly Unique” Mom

Andy Corren clearly wanted to do justice to his late mother's "itinerant, much-lived life" when writing her obituary. This is clear from his 996-word tribute to Renay Mandel Corren. Corren, a Fayetteville native who now works as a talent manager and writer in Upstate New York, wrote his mother's obituary after her demise at the age of 84 in El Paso, Texas, where she had been living with her son Michael and his family. His witty take on her boisterous life leaves one in awe of "the bawdy, fertile, redheaded matriarch of a sprawling Jewish-Mexican-Redn*ck American family." Following Renay's death on December 11, 2021, the obituary was published in the Fayetteville Observer.

It reads, "A plus-sized Jewish lady redneck died in El Paso on Saturday. Of itself hardly news, or good news if you're the type that subscribes to the notion that anybody not named you dying in El Paso, Texas, is good news. In which case have I got news for you: the bawdy, fertile, redheaded matriarch of a sprawling Jewish-Mexican-Redneck American family has kicked it. This was not good news to Renay Mandel Corren's many surviving children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, many of whom she even knew and, in her own way, loved."

"There will be much mourning in the many glamorous locales she went bankrupt in: McKeesport, PA, Renay's birthplace and where she first fell in love with ham and atheism; Fayetteville and Kill Devil Hills, NC, where Renay's dreams, credit rating, and marriage are all buried; and of course Miami, FL, where Renay's parents, uncles, aunts, and eternal hopes of all Miami Dolphins fans everywhere, are all buried pretty deep. Because she was my mother, the death of zaftig good-time gal Renay Corren at the impossible old age of 84 is newsworthy to me, and I treat it with the same respect and reverence she had for, well, nothing," Corren wrote.

"A more disrespectful, trash-reading, talking and watching woman in NC, FL or TX was not to be found. Hers was an itinerant, much-lived life, a Yankee Florida liberal Jewish Tough Gal who bowled 'em in Japan, rolled 'em in North Carolina, and was a singularly unique parent," he continued.

These words hardly portray Renay as a "model stay-at-home parent." But Corren is very particular that no wrong information about his late mom's personality goes out to the world. Renay—known as Rosie to her friends—worked double shifts with Doreen, ate a ton of carbs with Bernie, and occasionally cooked some stuffed cabbage for her kids. She was certainly not interested in household chores. In the epic words of her son: "Hers was a bawdy, rowdy life lived large, broke and loud."

Corren even revealed how Renay had faced various setbacks in life and how she had bounced back from illnesses. He was also cheeky enough to mention a possible affair she had with Larry King in the 60s!

"Renay has been toying with death for decades, but always beating it and running off in her silver Chevy Nova. Covid couldn't kill Renay. Neither could pneumonia twice, infections, blood clots, bad feet, breast cancer twice, two mastectomies, two recessions, multiple bankruptcies, marriage to a philandering Sergeant Major, divorce in the 70s, six kids, one cesarean, a few abortions from the Quietly Famous Abortionist of Spring Lake, NC or an affair with Larry King in the '60s."

Corren, who claims to be Renay's "favorite son, the gay one who writes catty obituaries in his spare time," ended his now-viral obituary with information about a memorial service. It said, "there will be a very disrespectful and totally non-denominational memorial on May 10, 2022, most likely at a bowling alley in Fayetteville, NC. The family requests absolutely zero privacy or propriety, none whatsoever, and in fact encourages you to spend some government money today on a 1-armed bandit, at the blackjack table, or on a cheap cruise to find our inheritance."

"She spent it all, folks. She left me nothing but these lousy memories. Which I, and my family of 5 brothers and my sisters-in-law, nephews, friends, nieces, neighbors, ex-boyfriends, Larry King's children, who I guess I might be one of, the total strangers who all, to a person, loved and will cherish her. Forever. Please think of the brightly-frocked, frivolous, funny, and smart Jewish redhead who is about to grift you, tell you a filthy joke, and for Larry King's sake: LAUGH. Bye, Mommy. We loved you to bits."