Daughter's four-sentence obituary for her 'burned bridges' mother goes viral (exclusive)

No one was more surprised than Christina Novak when she read the short online obituary in the Kennebec Journal about her mother's death went viral.

“To be clear, it's a PSA, not a joke. It was written with sarcasm and relief, but it's true,” Novak, 47, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It was written in four sentences because I refused to spend a single dollar on this woman.”

For those who didn't read Florence “Flo” Harrelson's colorful August 30th farewell, the obituary reads: “Florence 'Flo' Harrelson, 65, formerly of Chelsea, died on February 22, 2024 without family by her side, having burned bridges and left a trail of devastation.”

“Florence did not want an obituary to appear or for anyone, including her family, to know of her death,” the obituary continues. “That is because she wanted the people she terrorized to live in fear and look around even after she was gone. So this is not so much an obituary as it is a public service announcement.”

At first glance, some people online thought it was a joke, a sly farewell from someone who could take a joke – and that theory might even be supported by the personality-rich obituaries for Harrelson's mother and her brother Bill, who gained a certain level of fame through the television series. Maine Cabin Master before his death last year.

Harrelson's mother, who raised two sons and twin daughters, died in 2015 at the age of 80. She is remembered as a “fine cook” who was “known for her ability to bake delicious blueberry muffins without measuring any ingredients.”

The obituary for Harrelson's older brother William, 73, began in 2023 with the line: “The world may not be as funny for a while as we had to say goodbye to William Forrest Davenport on April 5th.”

Novak says the obituary for her uncle, who lived “about five minutes from me,” was “very nice.” She also claims her mother raided her uncle's cabin at least twice after his death.

According to Novak, her mother, a former Maine State Prison officer, died months before anyone in the family noticed.

Novak, who had not spoken to her mother in 10 years, said she only found out what had happened when she was talking to a friend about how it had been “too quiet lately.” She googled her mother's name and an obituary from a crematorium popped up.

“I messaged my aunt, her identical twin sister, and asked, 'Did Mom die?' And she said, 'I don't know,'” Novak says. “After some digging around, I found out it was her.”

Novak says her mother “took pleasure in ruining every birthday and Christmas” during her childhood and played cruel pranks on her when she was young, including allegedly taking her to a bridge and having her and her partner grab Novak's legs and arms and pretend to throw her into the water below.

“I still can’t drive across a bridge without having a panic attack,” says Novak.

So she had no problem writing down her true feelings, only the price of $1.25 per word limited her. In fact, she says, “writing it down felt cathartic. It was like I didn't want to hold my beer anymore.”

Before submitting her four sentences, Novak had her aunt submit them for approval. She received no response for more than 24 hours. And when she did receive a response, her aunt noticed only one typo.

“She emphasized, 'It's about destruction, not distraction,'” Novak says.

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But it was originally intended for her small community in Maine and her relatives, whom she describes as “very private people,” but instead her words suddenly became a widespread topic of discussion among people who didn't really know what they were seeing.

“Some people think, 'Why even say anything? She's dead,'” Novak says, but she stresses that sometimes it's only when a person is no longer alive that “someone finally has the power to say something.”

Besides, she says, “I think my Uncle Bill would have laughed at that.”