Woman Asks Grieving Daughter to Leave Her Mother’s Funeral to Find a Lost T-Shirt from Five Years Ago
ILLINOIS — A grieving family’s quiet funeral service took an unexpected and uncomfortable turn when one of the attendees — described by relatives as a longtime “acquaintance” of the deceased — asked the daughter of the deceased to leave the funeral and search for a T-shirt loaned five years ago.
The incident, shared online by the daughter, quickly gained attention for its mix of absurdity and insensitivity. The story began years earlier when the woman — a so-called “friend” of the late mother — had lent her a ratty old T-shirt with holes in it during a messy home renovation. The mother apparently forgot to return it, and neither party brought it up again for years.
A Shocking Request at the Worst Possible Time
According to the daughter, her mother passed away suddenly, and during the funeral, the same woman began reminiscing about the wallpapering project where the shirt exchange took place. But mid-conversation, she abruptly remembered the loan — and demanded that the daughter go home and find the shirt immediately.
“She told me, ‘It’s been five years, don’t you think that’s long enough?’” the daughter recalled, expressing disbelief that someone could make such a request during a funeral.
The daughter refused to leave, prompting her father to step in and ask the woman to leave the service. Witnesses described the scene as tense and deeply inappropriate given the circumstances.
A Final Gesture of Closure
The following day, the family reportedly found the T-shirt — old, worn, and still marked with the woman’s initials on the tag. In a moment that has since gone viral online, the daughter’s father threw it out of his car window into the woman’s front yard while driving by, choosing not to make any further contact.
The family never spoke to the woman again.
She asked me to leave my mother’s funeral to find a t-shirt she hadn’t seen in five years.
byu/itsnotmeitsallofus inEntitledPeople
Online Reaction
The story has since resonated with thousands online, with readers expressing outrage and disbelief at the woman’s insensitivity. Many described the act as “self-centered” and “beyond tone-deaf,” especially given the emotional weight of the funeral.
Others saw humor in the situation’s absurdity, calling it “a story straight out of a dark comedy.”
The daughter concluded the post simply: “We never talked to her again.”
For more human-interest and trending community stories, follow NapervilleLocal.com.
I’ve lived in Naperville long enough to see how quickly our community changes — from new developments downtown to sudden shifts in our Midwest weather. Reporting on Naperville news and daily forecasts gives me the chance to keep neighbors informed about what really matters. My goal is simple: deliver clear, timely updates so you always know what’s happening in our city and what to expect from the skies above.