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16 July 2015
- From the section Beds, Herts & Bucks
Star Wars baddie Darth Vader had the last word as he conducted a Halloween-themed fancy dress funeral.
About 100 mourners, many dressed as witches, gathered in Luton to remember Lorna Johnson, 56, at a service led by funeral director Brett Houghton.
Her son, Neil Johnson, said his mother loved Halloween and would have wanted “a party” to mark her death.
The life of Mrs Johnson, who died from lung cancer, was remembered to the music of country star Dolly Parton.
Mr Johnson said his mother “classed herself as a white witch and was into the tarot readings and that sort of thing”.
“My mum’s always said you need to celebrate, you need to have a party.
“So we’re not going to sit around feeling sorry for ourselves. My mum wouldn’t want that.”
A number of the mourners at Wednesday’s service donned pointy witch hats, while one arrived as film character Betelgeuse from director Tim Burton’s 1988 film Beetlejuice about a deceased couple haunting their former home.
Mr Johnson chose to dress as cartoon character the Tasmanian Devil – a vicious and bad-tempered creature based on the real-life carnivorous marsupial native to Tasmania.
Mrs Johnson died in June after being diagnosed in October last year. Her husband died in November.
The couple had four children – two sons, two daughters – and 10 grandchildren.
