Son Writes Brutally Honest Obituary About Father
Generally, a person is only supposed to say good things about the dead. But in the case of Lawrence Pfaff Sr., the theme of his obituary seems to be “Good thing he’s dead.”
The obituary, published in The Florida Times-Union over the holiday weekend, describes the late Pfaff, 81, as “narcissistic” and an “abusive alcoholic” whose death proves that “evil does eventually die.”
When Pfaff’s son Larry Pfaff Jr., wrote the obituary, he didn’t hold back:
[Pfaff] is survived by his three children, no four. Oops, five children. Well as of 2022 we believe there is one more that we know about, but there could be more. His love was abundant when it came to himself, but for his children it was limited. From a young age, he was a ladies’ man and an abusive alcoholic, solidifying his commitment to both with the path of destruction he left behind, damaging his adult children, and leaving them broken.
Pfaff Jr., 58, also writes that his father’s “hobbies” included “abusing his first wife,” and that he “possesses no redeeming qualities for his children, including the ones he knew, and the ‘ones he knew about.’”
He told the Times-Union that his father left the family when he was 9, had several more children with various women, and had abandoned them as well.
In fact, Pfaff Jr. has only been able to connect with many of his brothers and sisters by doing DNA research.
Pfaff said that he had started writing the obit a year ago, while his father was still alive, as “a way for me to really cleanse myself and let that part of my life go.”
The Times-Union notes that Larry’s sister Carolyn Compton “grew up in the same household” as he and “confirmed Pfaff’s account of their father.”
Pfaff Jr. said people have reached out to thank him for being honest about his deceased parent.
“I got a call from somebody in St. Augustine that found me and wanted to thank me for posting that because, you know, they had a similar life, and they wanted to be able to do something similar to help heal,” he said. “They just thanked me for, you know, the honesty.”
But the obit isn’t getting much love from Gannett, the company that owns the Times-Union.
A spokesperson said, “we regrettably published an obituary that did not adhere to our guidelines and we are looking into the matter further. We regret any distress this may have caused.