Ontario man plans, attends his own funeral celebration

When Reg Lansdowne from Wallaceburg, Ontario, lay in his coffin at his funeral, he was smiling and posing for photos.

The Toronto Star told the story of this 56-year-old man who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He isn't dying but he didn't want to wait until his condition deteriorates before celebrating with his friends and loved ones.

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So Lansdowne built a coffin, booked a band and scheduled a hearse ride to a celebration of his life before it was over. According to the Star, the January party has been the talk of the small town ever since.

Lansdowne said he had planned a similar party for his mother but she died before it took place, after which he found out she had left an inheritance of casino winnings.

There's a growing trend toward living funerals, according to some who work in the business, such as Larisa Balas, an officiant who recently wrote a piece about it in the Interlake Enterprise.

Balas suggests the idea is driven by baby boomers set on doing things their way, including dying.

Free-spirited types who want to be there to hear their eulogy and say goodbye to their friends are planning parties when they're diagnosed with a terminal illness instead of missing out on all the nice things people will say when they're gone.

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And as Lansdowne said, why let everyone else spend his inheritance throwing the party without him?