Final Party : New Orleans woman's funeral with disco ball, cigarette and whiskey in hand

A New Orleans woman was laid to rest earlier this month - but only after one final party, during which her body was displayed sitting at a table that is fully stocked with beer, whiskey and menthol cigarettes.

But no party is complete without a flashing disco ball, and 53-year-old Miriam Burbank's funeral service was complete with one of those, as well.

Burbank died on June 1. When the funeral home directors at Charbonnet Funeral Home asked Burbank's two daughters what their mother liked, the two women decided they wanted her funeral to reflect that she was full of life.



So the daughters came up with the interesting concept of having their mother's body displayed as though she were at a party - where, presumably, she sat and smoked menthol cigarettes while drinking beer and whiskey as a disco ball lit up the room.

To honor Burbank's love of the New Orleans Saints football team, her fingernails were painted black and gold - the color of the team's uniforms.

According to WGNO, Burbank's daughters said that other family members liked the idea, and thought it was a very fitting goodbye for their mother.

This is the second time this year when New Orleans has played host to a rather taboo funeral service.

In April, well-known New Orleans philanthropist Mickey Easterling was sent off in a similar fashion.


More than a thousand people attended the popular, 83-year-old socialite's funeral - at which her body was propped up on an iron bench with a glass of champagne in one hand and a cigarette holder in the other.

'She`s in a Leonardo outfit,' Sammy Steele, who did Mickey’s hair and make-up, told WGNO at the time. 'And I actually dressed her tonight for the occasion.'

Easterling was known for being a bit on the fabulous side, so for her funeral she also was wearing and ornate hate and a fancy outfit.

'It’s like something out a department store window in New York. On 5th Ave.,' says Steele, referring to how Mickey’s memorial service was planned by her ahead of time, 'This is what she requested. She`s sitting in a garden scenery to depict her back yard. This is what she wanted. No stone was left unturned for this memorial.'


Source : DailyMail , WGNO

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