An Only Fools and Horses superfan was laid to rest in a yellow Reliant Robin hearse.
When retired painter and decorator Eddie Joyce died of heart failure at the age of 72, his grieving family were determined to give him a “cushty” send-off.
Guests were invited to wear bright colours to the great-grandad-of-three’s funeral, while funeral staff dressed as Batman and Robin for the themed service.
READ MORE: Only Fools’ David Jason is being haunted by John Sullivan’s ghost to ‘teach him lesson’
One of Eddie’s daughters, reiki healing practitioner Victoria Ridgwell, said she and her four siblings wanted to represent their ‘joker’ dad and commemorate his life.
Victoria, from Windsor, Berkshire, said: “He was a bit of a Del Boy character, he was old school and a bit of a cheeky chappy.
(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
“He was very chatty, very loveable and unique. Not a lot of people were like him, he would give you the coins in his pocket if you didn’t have it.
“The funeral totally reflected his character. He loved Only Fools and Horses, we were brought up on it as well, we watched it all the time.”
Victoria added that the Batman and Robin costumes, a nod to the 1996 Christmas special starring David Jason as Del, was a particularly beloved episode in their family, and offered up good memories of their dad.
(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
“We also decided on Only Fools and Horses because we’d all do fancy dress on Christmas day – one year my brother Jay and my dad went as Batman and Robin from Only Fools.
The dad of five’s work van was covered in references to the legendary BBC sitcom, such as the “New York, Paris, Slough” line from Del’s Reliant.
(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
At the back there were two pictures of inflatable dolls and the tagline of being ‘specialists in chandelier cleaning’ – making reference to two famous episodes.
A yellow three-wheeler was laid on for the funeral in his home town of Slough.
Victoria added: “It was heartbreaking but we knew he’d love it.”
Victoria, 50, said: ‘We wanted Dad’s funeral to be different to reflect his personality, we didn’t want it all sombre and black.
‘You could wear what you wanted. Lots of people came in colourful things and in band t-shirts it – was more like a celebration of his life.’
Eddie’s funeral, held on July 18th, was arranged by E Sargeant & Son and held at Slough Crematorium who organised the Reliant Robin hearse.
Funeral Arranger at E Sargeant & Son, Pam Wilson, said: “The family were so wonderful, it was an honour to give them what they wanted for their dad.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
