Death Doesn’t Part Father From Wedding
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PEORIA, Ill. — Mark Songer feared relatives might think the idea “strange and spooky,” but he didn’t let that keep his father away from his wedding--even though it meant exchanging vows beside an open coffin.
“I wanted him to be present while I was getting married, and I didn’t want to wait another day,” Songer, 34, said Wednesday. He exchanged rings before a hushed group of 18 friends and relatives beside the coffin bearing the body of William Songer, 63.
Songer had lived with his fiancee, Mary Lou Smith, 30, for eight years, and said his parents had wanted them to get married. But his mother died Nov. 6, and his father died Christmas Day.
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