‘Why can’t you?’: Woman, 80, hosts her own funeral, celebrates life with her loved ones

MACON, Ga. (WMAZ) - An 80-year-old Georgia woman had a front-row seat to her own funeral.

Shelvy Neal hosted her own funeral Sunday, even though she has a lot more living left to do. She called it a “FOMO funeral” for fear of missing out. It was a celebration of Shelvy’s life, the relationships she’s made and her 80th birthday.

“It’s gonna be about celebrating Christ and my life, 80 years of my life,” Shelvy said before the event. “It’s been a good one.”

The FOMO funeral was held at the Macon property Shelvy and her husband owned for about 25 years before they sold it to a funeral home in 2020. The sale came with a catch: two funerals, one for each of them.

Her husband’s funeral was in March, and it got Shelvy thinking about her own.

“I said, ‘You know, I’d love to be at my own funeral,’” Shelvy said. “My daughter said, ‘Well, why can’t you?’”

So, Shelvy and her family set about planning. Guests were invited to speak at an open microphone, and before the event, Shelvy said she was ready for whatever they might say.

“If they want to, they can say bad things, but I’m gonna be there, and I might cut the mic,” she said. “I’m gonna control my own funeral.”

Around 100 people showed up to Shelvy’s FOMO funeral, which featured a coffin with a cardboard printout of Shelvy lying inside. The real Shelvy wore a sash that read “Back by popular demand,” and her family celebrated with a cake that read, “She refuses to miss anything… especially her own funeral.”

Shelvy herself made the flowers for her funeral, and she was the guest speaker.

“I think it will be easier on my family to do something like this, but also, you know, funeral is F-U-N. And I like fun,” she said.

When the real goodbye comes, Shelvy says it will be a simple graveside service instead of a traditional funeral.