My Dad Had Some Unusual Requests For His Funeral. 3 Years Later, People Are Still Talking About It.

<div><img src="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/68af484f180000dd478c6839.png?cache=OeX33QrGVw&ops=scalefit_630_noupscale" alt="Videos of the author's father were shown throughout his service, like this one from the author’s wedding reception in 2004." data-caption="Videos of the author's father were shown throughout his service, like this one from the author’s wedding reception in 2004." data-credit-link-back="" data-credit="Courtesy of Carrie Friedman" />Videos of the author's father were shown throughout his service, like this one from the author’s wedding reception in 2004.</div><div class="content-list-component text"><p><span style="font-weight:400">“If people aren’t laughing during my memorial, you’ve done it wrong,” my father told us for years, long before his death. “Funerals are inherently sad; for mine, cut the treacle a bit with humour.”</span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400">He thought a lot about funerals. Growing up, death was a dinner table conversation at our house almost every night, because my dad was an estate planning attorney. He always protected his clients’ privacy, but would bring the lessons home: <em>Ne</em></span><em><span style="font-weight:400">ver fight with your siblings over money. Never stop talking to your brother and sister – work it out with words, go to a family therapist if you have to. Your mother and I would be so disappointed if you didn’t get along after we were gone. </span></em></p><p><span style="font-weight:400">My dad spent his days divvying up assets among sometimes testy or distant family members. He helped his clients write their wills and he attended enough funerals to develop strong beliefs about them. He often advised his clients to take a beat after a family member’s dea