Famy has memorial service pictures up *spoilers*

[kayray]

I really don't think the shoebox is the casket. If you look behind the two littlest girls in the front (sorry, I don't know one Duggar from another), there is a black box with white lining in the lid - it almost looks like a laptop but I think that must be the casket. One of the little girls appears to be looking into it (:::shudder:::). As someone else said upthread, the shoebox on the pedestal is probably for cards.

ETA: I am horrified by this whole thing, but other people have already expressed that better than I can.

I think you might be right. I had noticed that too after closer inspection.

[Kishiria]

To be honest, in the first picture JB doesn't look all that happy. In fact he looks like the least happy among those old enough to understand what is going on. I have a feeling this whole thing was J'chelle's idea, she looks positively glowing. :puke:

My observation as well. I think Michelle grinning away is a sign that for her, attention is her drug and she just got a fix.

[GeoBQn]

Thank you for putting the pictures behind spoiler buttons, because I would never be able to handle them. My family doesn't do open-casket funerals. They let the immediate family look at the body in the casket for about 10 minutes, before the guests come, and I can't even handle that.

Several years ago, my friend's cousin had her first pregnancy end in an extremely premature birth. The baby lived for several hours. The cousin posted pictures of the baby on Facebook. First, I was incredibly disturbed by the pictures themselves, which appeared on my newsfeed. I was also really angry that I was able to see them at all, something so painful and private. I was not friends with the cousin on Facebook, but thanks to blind spots in the privacy settings, I could see the pictures because my friend had commented on them. I'm getting the same feelings now.

Thanks to Famy, I am not only going to avoid 19 Kids and Couting, I am going to avoid TLC and possibly all cable TV for now. I am going to stick with DVDs and Netflix, because I do NOT want to be blindsided by the inevitable commercials for the memorial special.

[TouchMeFall21]

I absolutely cannot stop looking at the picture of the family, trying to wrap my brain around it. Michelle is positively glowing! And the kids are "keeping sweet;" oh my lord, the mixed messages are enough to make my head spin, I can only imagine what the younger children, with their limited critical thinking skills, might be feeling.

As for the hand/foot image, I am surprised that I am having a visceral, extreme reaction to them. I don't have any children, and have never (to my knowledge!) suffered a miscarriage, and they're so upsetting to me--I can only imagine how triggering they must be! But I guess that's the point, eh? Slippery slope from feeling upset to reconsidering my whole pro-choice stance?

Sorry, Duggars. Ain't gonna happen.

[thoughtful]

I think you might be right. I had noticed that too after closer inspection.

I think that's just a black frame with something white in it, not the lid of a box.

In the second set of pics, you can see that more clearly, and also see something covered in a brown fabric drape. If there was a casket, perhaps that's it. Since they called it a memorial, the remains might not even have been there.

[slickcat79]

Wow :shock:

In addition to everything else, why are they in that megachurch? They homechurch for everything else, but one of the most personal experiences of their lives has to happen in a venue that can seat hundreds of people?

I was surprised to see the printed obituary, but I still didn't think they'd go this public for a memorial service. I can't even...

[Jessica]

Why are they smiling??

Smile big for the cameras, you little ones, this photo shoot is your ticket to hot meals for the next 6 months!

[lizzy]

What the fuck is wrong with these people, I mean seriously. The kids aren't even allowed to look sad a funeral for pete sake, all of them smiling in the posed family portrait is just so backwatds and creepy.

I wouldn't be surprised if they used the family photo smiling with dead J20 as the new intro kids for 19 Kids an Angel and Counting. (Caleb doesn't count)

Of course they are not sad. Little Baby is with JESUS!!! This is a time to rejoice! :banana-dance:

Seriously.... barf....

[Destiny]

No pics on FB. Damage control again I wonder?

They are still there, I just looked again. These are on her regular profile, not the fan page.

[emmiedahl]

Who wants to bet that they asked for "love offerings"?

[Visionoyahweh]

Another random thought - Michelle standing over the fetus, tweezers in hand - making the lips curl up into a smile. You gotta keep sweet, even if you die in utero! :(

[browngrl]

I've seen a lot of families that have had to deal with a miscarriage. I know that everyone mourns in their own way but damn, I have never seen so many family members look so cheerful and I have never seen a mother as glowing as Michelle. *shudder*

[formergothardite]

My observation as well. I think Michelle grinning away is a sign that for her, attention is her drug and she just got a fix.

I think that is why she loved Josie the best. She brought Michelle the most attention.

[PBrooke]

If they say Jill isn't going into the medical field after this positively ghastly display... well, I wouldn't blame her and I wouldn't even think it's an excuse. These are surprisingly very upsetting to me.

[Lillybee]

In the family picture, it looks like Jinger is trying not to giggle.

[vicka]

Why the FCUK are they smiling?????

WHY?

WHY????

i don't get it. at all.

WHY?

[Deleted02]

OH MY GOD.....

[kthomp38+]

I really felt sorry for the Duggars until this. My sister had to deliver her stillborn little girl Dec. 2 (she wasn't due until April 15 not sure on the weeks only that they had know it was a girl for a few weeks). I understood the Duggars wanting a funeral and even an obit if they wished. My sister made sure that her little girl had a funeral honoring her daughter because she knew that their wouldn't be any birthdays or Christmases in the future for her to give her. Then when I saw the Duggars smiling around the casket it made me angry no one at the funeral was happy that day it was a very sad day how could the Duggars be happy. Also, I hope they didn't have an open casket. No one except the parents and the grandparents saw my sister's little girl. I haven't seen her or even a picture and I am kind of torn on whether I want to. I think it might scar on of the little ones like Johannah or Jennifer for life to see that little baby much less Jessa,Jinger, Jana, or Jill who people are saying may have delivered Jubilee. The Duggars really are making me angry but they are still a total trainwreck.

[JenniferJuniper]

It's so surreal. Could almost be a massive fuck-you-internets moment except you know while Michelle is beaming ear to ear she's thinking "Such a joyous event; it's almost as wonderful as that time Jac...um, Jus...um...Jam... It's almost as wonderful as that time Brother fell into that big pit and smashed his face up. I'm always ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille!"

I feel so sorry for the kids. Especially the ones who are at an age where they are likely to be traumatized by the whole thing. And God knows, there are enough of them.

[Mommy22alyns]

Oh my gosh. I was fine with the obit. I can handle the feet/hands pictures (except for the captions). But WHY for the love of GOD are they beaming around the casket??? Michelle?!?! Holy what the FUCK??????? I know families mourn in their own way, but... I can't imagine that I'd want to smile at all after that. :( And did she really make her oldest girls handle the miscarriage? That's just disgusting. Scar them for life, indeed. :(

[Mommy22alyns]

By the way, if Josh gets any fatter, he's going to explode.

[LynnKaboom]

Those pictures of Jubilee's feet and hands make me really sad. :( Poor little thing. I wish she could have been born into a family that wanted her for more than just a headcount and survived. :(

[chiccy]

That is the tackiest church I have ever seen. Who the hell would have a memorial for anyone in a church like that.

[lilwriter85]

That is the tackiest church I have ever seen. Who the hell would have a memorial for anyone in a church like that.

It looks like a mega church and some mega churches are a bit tacky looking.

[shesinsane]

The photo of the family smiling around the casket will be in the Duggar's next book, as well as the tell-all book one of the kids will someday write. In the Duggar's book, the caption will talk about how the day was all about God and Jubilee. J'escaped Duggar will write about how the events of that day scarred him/her.

For families that don't gather much, it's not uncommon to take pictures the day of a funeral when everyone's actually together. It's usually after the service and doesn't involve the coffin.

I'm sure on the VSE the Duggars will explain why their home church wasn't suitable for the funeral/memorial service, and for a small fee (or in exchange for an on-air plug), a local church opened up its doors.