Dr. Hurlbutt’s favorite epitaphs

Posted on Thursday, June 18, 2009, at 6:24 am, by Dr. Allardyce Hurlbutt.

It was a cough that carried him off.
It was a coffin they carried him off in.

— Greenwich, Massachusetts

Stranger weep, for at the age of seven
Little Willie went to Heaven.

To which has been added:

Cheer up, Stranger, who can tell?
Willie may have gone to Hell.

— Ireland

Here lies the body
of Samuel Young
Who came here and died
For the benefit of his health.

— Isle of Wight

Erected to the memory of
John Phillips
Accidentally shot
As a mark of affection by his brother

      — Ulster

Once I Wasn’t.
Then I Was.
Now I ain’t Again.

— Lee County, Mississippi

Source: Philip Reder, comp., Epitaphs (London, 1969).