A New Jersey man took a parting shot at the Philadelphia Eagles in his obituary.
Jeffrey Riegel, 56, from Port Republic, died on August 18 after a battle with cancer. But before his death, he promised friends a funny message in his obituary.
Published in the Press of Atlantic City, Riegel is described as a ‘wonderful husband, uncle, brother, and son’ before it takes an unexpected turn.
‘God gave [Riegel] the miracle of time to prepare which allowed him to verbalize his last wishes. He requested to have 8 Philadelphia Eagles as pall bearers so the Eagles can let him down one last time.’ the obituary read.
Riegel was a passionate Eagles fan who owned season tickets for more than 30 years, although the team never won a Super Bowl during his lifetime.
It was not always an easy team to love, said his wife, Donna Lee Riegel. She sometimes suggested he pay allegiance to a different team.
According to her, ‘I just can’t’ was his response.
Riegel’s friend, Lou Jiacopello, told the Press of Atlantic City: ‘The last time we spoke, he told me to check out the obituary. He wouldn’t tell me what it said, but he knew I’d get a kick out of it.
‘I had to laugh. But I wasn’t surprised. That’s just the kind of guy he was.’
Eight friends wore Eagles jerseys as they lay Riegel to rest on Thursday at St Paul’s United Methodist Church’s cemetery in Port Republic.
Riegel did get to see the Eagles win one last time before his death, his wife said. He saw their 20-16 pre-season victory on August 17 over the Buffalo Bills.
‘He got to see them go out on a win,’ Donna added, suggesting that may have been what he needed before making peace with death.
A spokesperson for the Eagles declined to comment about Riegel’s request.
