Superhero dad’s beautiful, comedic self-written obituary will make you cry and laugh (a lot)
Aaron Joseph Purmort was a young father who died of brain cancer on November 25 at the age of 35. But before he died, he left his family and friends with a reminder and memento of his amazing sense of humor: On Sunday, theStar Tribune published Purmort’s warm and funny self-penned obituary, which mixed in bits of fantasy with the real facts of his life.
Civilians will recognize him best as Spider-Man, and thank him for his many years of service protecting our city. His family knew him only as a kind and mild-mannered Art Director, a designer of websites and t-shirts, and concert posters who always had the right cardigan and the right thing to say (even if it was wildly inappropriate).
Aaron was known for his long, entertaining stories, which he loved to repeat often. In high school, he was in the band The Asparagus Children, which reached critical acclaim in the northern suburbs. As an adult, he graduated from the College of Visual Arts (which also died an untimely death recently) and worked in several agencies around Minneapolis, settling in as an Interactive Associate Creative Director at Colle + McVoy.
Aaron was a comic book aficionado, a pop-culture encyclopedia and always the most fun person at any party. He is survived by his parents Bill and Kim Kuhlmeyer, father Mark Purmort (Patricia, Autumn, Aly), sisters Erika and Nicole, first wife Gwen Stefani, current wife Nora and their son Ralph, who will grow up to avenge his father’s untimely death.
The touching tribute quickly went viral. Purmort’s wife Nora, who documented her husband’s battle with cancer on her blog, shared the obituary, yesterday in a tweet:
— nora purmort (@noraborealis) November 30, 2014
She noted she had written the piece along with her husband before he died. “I’ve never laughed and cried more in one sitting, but I’m so glad we got to do this. I love this man so damn much,” she wrote.
Before Purmort died, his friends started an online fundraising campaign to help support his wife, Nora, and their son, Ralph. As of today, it’s raised $104,303. Which only seems fitting for a secret superhero like him.
