One Last Meal for Their Last Mile

Last week a video of a hearse pulling through a McDonald’s drive-thru in Australia went viral because a casket with a full floral blanket (and thus assumed to be occupied) was clearly visible through the back glass. As the TikTok post was shared across platforms, some of the responses were expectedly rude; there were plenty of the “how disrespectful” and “he was dying for a Mickey D’s ha ha” comments. However, most of the folks who posted their thoughts shared a different kind of story — and Connecting Directors readers probably aren’t surprised.

Outside the norm

Sure, a hearse does seem to draw attention from passersby, whether it’s a key part of a funeral procession or making a trip to the oil change shop. And when any funeral car appears in any other context, especially where normal, everyday things like grocery shopping or food pickup are happening, it’s just jarring enough that people take pictures and videos and feel compelled to share them on social media — especially when there’s a casket in the back.

What was cool about this viral post, though, is that an impressive number of commenters offered a perfectly logical (and very special) reason for the pit stop — it was one of the deceased’s wishes for his final disposition.

“I can tell you this is most likely a last request from family for a last meal or coffee run and pre-planned and organised with McDonald’s beforehand,” wrote a person who was affiliated with a funeral home.”Even if that appears strange to onlookers at the time.”

Another person, who identified themselves as a former manager at McDonalds, added “I had a funeral home call my store on more than one occasion notifying us that they would be coming through in a hearse, family’s wishes, for the deceased’s last coffee run.”

Honor, not disrespect

Deathcare professionals are obviously used to accommodating unusual family requests, even if it means potentially exposing themselves to social media trolls. Among those requests, one last stop through a drive-thru is actually fairly common, it seems.

In 2019, Fox News covered a funeral home in the UK that treated their passenger to a Burger King double bacon cheeseburger on his way to the crematorium. As it turned out, Leonard Durkin, who died at age 71, had made a routine of stopping by a Burger King and placing his favorite order after stopping by his wife’s grave. Shortly before he passed away, he told his son he’d like to do that one last time, and have the burger placed on top of his coffin. The funeral home obliged, arranging the visit with the Burger King staff in advance. 

“I made a visit to Burger King a week before to let them know we’d be coming,” funeral director Adrian Benson told a local news outlet. “I can’t say anyone has ever requested to go through a drive-thru on the way to the service before. It was a first for me. We told the person serving us that the burger was for the man in the back, but I think the joke was a bit lost on them.”

Stories like these, along with the thoughtful and constructive responses that are counteracting the snide comments in the viral posts, will hopefully help others understand what might be going on the next time they see an occupied funeral vehicle pulling through a drive-thru for one last order.