The immediate family of a recently deceased 89-year-old ex-kite maker from Newmills are said to be at war after an inscription on his gravestone simply read ‘Willie Farmer; He Had Good Teeth’.

Mrs Farmer (88), and her son Adam, are said to be responsible for the inscription, as opposed to the two daughters who believed he should have received a more positive message on the gravestone at Newmills Community Cemetery after Monday’s funeral service.

Defending the inscription, Mrs Farmer maintained that the message they settled upon summed up all that was good about her husband, adding that he was lucky to even have that at all.

“Yes, he had great teeth. But he was an obnoxious, miserable old man. His teeth were the only redeeming thing about him and I should know, after 55 years of marriage. Initially, I just wanted it to say ‘Willie Farmer; He Had Teeth‘ but the son added a bit more information with ‘good’.”

Daughter Emily Farmer maintains there was more to the inscription than met the eye:

“My da went against the grain and left all his land to his daughters in his will. This is simply my ma and our Geoff getting back at him, and him dead.”

The Farmer fiasco is the latest in a spate of gravestone skulduggery in the county after a Tattyreagh wife was chastised by her family for inscribing ‘Jack Quinn; He Lived.’ on his headstone after a tumultuous 61 years of marriage.

The Mid-Ulster council are to vote on a motion that members of the deceased have to write at least one good thing on the headstone from January 1st 2022.