A 'mischievous' dad of six from Leeds got his final wish at his funeral today as the hearse swung by his favourite Burger King drive thru in Cottingley on its way to the crematorium.
71-year-old Leonard Durkin, a former miner, passed away at Acre Court in Middleton on Tuesday, May 28, but had told his children that he wanted to stop off at the fast-food restaurant in his final journey.
"I used to take my dad to the crematorium because my mum passed away two years ago," said Leonard's son, 50-year-old Peter.
"We always went to Burger King when we went to visit her.
"He said to me: 'When I go I want one of them.'"
'He wanted a bacon-double cheeseburger'
The video above shows the funeral procession make an unusual stop-off at the Burger King restaurant on the A6610 Ring Road earlier today (Friday), which drew a fair bit of attention from bemused onlookers.
Peter filmed the video from the back of the car and said: "He wanted a bacon-double cheese[burger].
The video also shows Peter stepping out of the vehicle and walking up to his dad's coffin before saying: "Your last supper dad, eh?
"I love you dad. I'm gonna miss you."
The plan was for the entire funeral procession to follow them into the drive thru, but the other drivers headed straight for Cottingley Crematorium. Nonetheless, the stunt still drew plenty of strange looks.
Leonard's daughter Julie, 43, said: "A lot of people were at the traffic lights filming."
It was all organised by Bensons Funeral Directors, who even carried out a practice run in the hearse in the days before the funeral and spoke to the manager at Burger King to arrange the unusual order.
Julie said: "They were outstanding and couldn't have done a better job."
The trip to pick up a burger wasn't the only funny moment planned by Leonard, though, who brought laughter from those mourning his loss at Cottingley Crematorium.
"He always wanted to make folk laugh," said Peter.
"He was cremated and his last song was Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire.
"They were his wishes. He sorted his own funeral and his own songs.
"He was mischievous and loved a laugh."
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