We're never going to be able to meet the late Terry Ward, who died on Jan. 23 at 71.
But after reading the hilarious, heartfelt obituary penned by his daughter, Jean Lahm, we sure feel like we missed out on meeting a truly great soul.
In the space of just a few hundred words, Lahm covered a whole range of his quirks (as well as accomplishments and successes) with such a loving touch that the obit has gone viral.
"That's how my dad was," Lahm, who works at Geisen Funeral Homes in Indiana, told TODAY. "He was all about making people laugh. He just had this quirky, witty sense of humor and we all got it from him. The household was built on who could get the best laugh."
Along with his loved ones, Ward left behind "32 jars of Miracle Whip, 17 boxes of Hamburger Helper and multitudes of other random items that would prove helpful in the event of a zombie apocalypse."
Among the things he enjoyed were "hunting, fishing, golfing, snorkeling, ABBA, hiking Turkey Run, chopping wood, shooting guns, Bed Bath & Beyond, starlight mints, cold beer, free beer, The History Channel, CCR, war movies, discussing who makes the best pizza, The Chicago White Sox, old Buicks, and above all, his family."
The former AT&T worker from DeMotte, Indiana, also "accumulated roughly 3,000 rolls of black electrical tape during the course of his career (which he used for everything from open wounds to "Don't use this button" covers)."
Lahm also noted her dad "despised 'uppity foods' like hummus, which his family called "bean dip" for his benefit, which he loved consequently.
"He couldn’t give a damn about most material things, and automobiles were never to be purchased new. He never owned a personal cell phone and he had zero working knowledge of the Kardashians," she said.
We like him more all the time, and hundreds of others who signed the guest book attached to the obit seemed to agree.
"I love that humor resonates with people in regards to an obituary," Lahm told the Chicago Tribune. "Being in the funeral industry, I've seen that when families can come together, celebrate a life and truly laugh, it's what helps them heal."
NBC's WRC-TV reported that Ward died of a stroke, though the cause of death was not specified in the obit.
Lahm said she was surprised her tribute to her pop got so much attention.
"I 100 percent truly never imagined anything like this," she said to TODAY. "Some of the comments from total strangers are like, 'I want to be like Terry.' Someone wrote that he was an average great guy who enjoyed life and loved to laugh. That really sums it up."
"I think he's up there having an awesome laugh over all of this," she said.
Follow Randee Dawn on Twitter.