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Avon Lake man's bitter obit for his mother goes viral

A shocking a bitter obituary that was penned by an Avon Lake man and his sister, has gone viral around the world.

AVON LAKE -- Jay Dehmalo wanted the final word.

A shocking and bitter obituary penned by Dehmalo and his sister has gone viral around the world.

USA Today called it, "hellish."

The Washington Post described it as, "savage."

The obituary for Kathleen Dehmlow starts like many do, until the third paragraph that raises eyebrows. "In 1962, she became pregnant by her husband's brother... and moved to California," it reads. The writer says she abandoned her children, Gina and Jay, who were then raised by her parents.

The most scathing words follow: "She passed away on May 31, 2018 in Springfield [Minnesota] and will now face judgment. She will not be missed by Gina and Jay, and they understand that this world is a better place without her."

Dehmlow was 80 years old.

The short obituary was published in the Redwood Falls Gazette in Minnesota, and led to countless social media comments that ranged from support to hate.

Dehmlow's son, Jay, now lives in Avon Lake. He told the Daily Mail that he changed his name to Jay Dehmalo to distance himself from his family. He says abandonment, abuse and heartache led to his and his sister's decision to write the bitter obituary, and that they wanted to share the truth after burying it for years.

We stopped by Dehmalo's Avon Lake home, but no one answered the door.

But in a missive that went viral online, Dehmalo got the final word.

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