A&NMinneapolis man Aaron Purmort lost his battle to brain cancer last week at the age of 35. But what most people may not know is not only did the world lose a loving husband and a doting father, but we also lost Spider-Man!
Aaron wanted to write his own obituary before he passed, and he wrote it in the most spectacular fashion. This is without a doubt the funniest death announcement you will ever read, and while that may seem weird, according to his wife Nora, that's exactly what Aaron was going for.
"Before [Aaron] died, we had time to sit down and write his obituary," she writes on her blog. "I've never laughed and cried more in one sitting, but I'm so glad we got to do this. I love this man so damn much."
The obituary, which ran on Sunday in the Star Tribune, chronicles his dad-by-day, superhero-by-night life, and he promises his son will avenge his death that was caused by "a nefarious criminal named Cancer."
Here is the amazing obit in full:
Purmort, Aaron Joseph age 35, died peacefully at home on November 25 after complications from a radioactive spider bite that led to years of crime-fighting and a years long battle with a nefarious criminal named Cancer, who has plagued our society for far too long.
Civilians will recognize him best as Spider-Man, and thank him for his many years of service protecting our city. His family knew him only as a kind and mild-mannered Art Director, a designer of websites and t-shirts, and concert posters who always had the right cardigan and the right thing to say (even if it was wildly inappropriate).
Aaron was known for his long, entertaining stories, which he loved to repeat often. In high school, he was in the band The Asparagus Children, which reached critical acclaim in the northern suburbs.
As an adult, he graduated from the College of Visual Arts (which also died an untimely death recently) and worked in several agencies around Minneapolis, settling in as an Interactive Associate Creative Director at Colle + McVoy.
Aaron was a comic book aficionado, a pop-culture encyclopedia and always the most fun person at any party.
He is survived by his parents Bill and Kim Kuhlmeyer, father Mark Purmort (Patricia, Autumn, Aly), sisters Erika and Nicole, first wife Gwen Stefani, current wife Nora and their son Ralph, who will grow up to avenge his father's untimely death.
Aaron and his wife Nora also recently filmed a documentary that followed their lives as he battled cancer, lives that she likes to call "a love story, not a cancer story." You can watch the teaser below:
You can donate toward the online fundraiser set up by Nora's sister to help cover the cost of Aaron's medical bills, his funeral arrangements and their son Ralph's future.
"Looking through photos from the past few years gives me the same butterflies I had when Aaron and I were falling in love," Nora writes on her blog about her late husband. "He was so electrically alive that he sparked a new fire inside of me, lifted the veil of ennui I'd been under and made me, at my core, a happier person."
May you rest in peace, Aaron. We know you are up there fighting crime and making people laugh.