Nfld. man telephones during own funeral

ST. PHILIP'S, NFLD. - The family of a Newfoundland man is overjoyed but looking for answers after he phoned during his own funeral to let them know he hadn't been killed in a Toronto commuter train accident after all.

Gilbert Squires of St. Philip's, Nfld., said he got a call on Sunday afternoon saying his brother Dane had been killed by a train.

Police in Toronto said a sister had identified the retired welder as the man killed while crossing a GO Train track last Friday.

"The body was badly mutilated," said Gilbert. "We've been mourning in Newfoundland and in Toronto, everywhere. We're in total shock."

But during Thursday's funeral in Toronto, Dane Squires called his daughter Trina to report that he was alive and well.

"They [had] just loaded Dane's body in the hearse and the funeral director comes and says, 'Somebody would like to speak to you on the phone,' and Dane's daughter Trina took the phone," said Gilbert Squires.

"This was Dane on the phone, so she actually thought that she was dead or talking to a ghost or something and just about lost her mind."

Squires said it's not unusual for his brother to visit friends in Toronto for four or five days.

Dane Squires didn't realize there was any problem until he read his own obituary in the newspaper, his brother said. Then he called his sister's house to let her know he was alive, and found out his funeral was underway.

After the accident, Toronto police had appealed to the public to assist them in identifying the body.

A spokesperson, Det.-Const. Dave Stirling, told the Toronto Sun that Squires's sister viewed the victim's body and identified it as that of her brother.

"There must have been a likeness," Stirling said. "It certainly is an unfortunate circumstance. It's certainly a shock."

The accident victim's body has now been returned to the coroner's office and police are again trying to identify him. The dead man was between 45 and 50, with a beard and short, reddish-brown hair.

Gilbert Squires said his brother is taking his "death" with good humour.

"He said, 'I've got a new name. I haven't decided what it's going to be.' And I said, 'What would that be?' And he said, 'I'm either going to call myself Lazarus or Jesus.''"

Linky

TORONTO - Dane Squires was late for his own funeral.

At least it seemed that way after people gathered Thursday at a Toronto funeral home to mourn the retired welder from Newfoundland, whom they believed had been hit by a train.

Relatives of Squires were watching the casket being loaded into a hearse when his daughter Trina was told she had an important phone call.

Her father was on the other end.

"She totally, totally lost it," Squires' brother Gilbert said.

"She said, `There's a ghost talking to me on the phone. Please somebody try to make sense out of this because I'm losing my mind.'"

Squires was initially identified as the man who was hit by a commuter train last Friday night. The body was badly mutilated in the accident but still fit Squires' description, police said. Authorities haven't yet identified the victim.

"He went to my sister's house, and whoever answered the door fainted," said Gilbert Squires, noting his brother didn't become aware of the confusion until he read his own obituary in the newspaper.

Squires' sister identified the dead man as her brother after viewing the body at the coroner's office this week, police said.
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hahaha Fluffy. I beat you by 3 minutes.

Dang!

Oh well, I tried...

thats a kl story where did you here it man

hellboy, he provided a link in his initial post.

Er, we both did. Damn merges

haha KL STORY! KL.


Seriously though, could you imagine!!

hahahaha. I think he should have just shown up at the funeral and said "What's going on, eh?"

Hi honey, why are you all dressed in black?

**Daughter flops over**

What, what did I say?

"Hey, who's the coffin for anyway?"

'Hey, who's the stiff??'

[edit] damned the woman beat me to it hahah

What a shock and relief it must have been for his family!!

I would have thought I was talking to a ghost too, if I were his daughter. Wow, that would have been creepy.

He does have wonderful timing, though. Just think: this story might not have been posted if he hadn't called during his funeral!

So whos body was in the coffin then ???
Was this just a case of mistaken identity do you think???
It was either that or he must have had a cell phone in the coffin with him.

Deadly Nightshade.

wow a great confunsing story!

I heard about this yesterday..good ending