Boy Is The Only One Who Attends Grandma's Funeral, Even Though She Disinherited Him – Story of the Day

In her attempt to bequeath her $13M inheritance to the deserving, a grandma left a will with a surprise twist. When she died, the grandson she hated and disinherited, believing he was an ill omen and bad luck, was the only one to show up at her funeral.

Dorothy Hanks loved being around her grandchildren, mainly because she knew how to tune them to her beats. Like every grandparent, she too wanted the best for her grandkids and was ready to go to any extent to make them happy as long as they obeyed her.

But when her fourth grandkid was born, Dorothy was unhappy and furious. She cursed her daughter for giving birth to a baby boy with Down syndrome and turned her back on them.

For 17 years, she refused to see the boy's face, thinking he was an evil omen who brought home bad luck. The Lowell granny's hatred for people with Down syndrome began 40 years ago when an unfortunate incident snatched more than just her happiness...

Dorothy was happily married to her husband, Grey Hanks, who was also a philanthropist apart from being a successful industrialist. Grey never thought twice about helping the needy and always had his best foot forward to serve society.

He also took the sole responsibility for his orphaned cousin, Jeremy, with Down syndrome. He looked after his cousin like his father and often visited him at the nursing home for people with special needs.

"What? Nobody is here for the funeral?" cried the boy. "Why are they not here to say goodbye to grandma?"

On his way home from a regular visit one day, Grey lost control of his car and rammed into a speeding truck. He died on the spot, leaving his wife and children crushed. At that moment, a widowed Dorothy blamed Jeremy for her husband's death.

"Had you not had Down syndrome, my husband would not have visited you often," she frowned during Grey's funeral.

Dorothy hated to even look at people with Down syndrome. She felt even seeing them was ominous. Several years passed, but Dorothy had not fully recovered from Grey's loss. Her only relief was when she became a grandma for the first time after her older daughter Madison gave birth to triplets.

"I love being a grandma!" Dorothy would often say because she loved raising the children. Also, she wanted them to be like her and know who to love and hate.

While Dorothy's life was blissful, her happiness doubled when her youngest daughter Hannah welcomed a baby boy. The granny was delighted and rushed to the hospital because she wanted to be the first one to hold the baby and see him.

But when she peeped into the crib, Dorothy frowned and withdrew her hands after seeing a newborn baby with Down syndrome.

"No, stop. I don't want to touch him," she told the nurse, flushing red. "I have seen what I do not want to see all my life...I'm leaving. This cannot be my grandson."

Dorothy stormed out of the ward as though she wanted to wash and change quickly.

A few days later, Hannah was discharged from the hospital with her newborn son, Michael. She was disappointed with her mother and the rest of her family for not visiting her. She decided to find out why her mother walked away angrily and soon drove to meet her, unaware of her reaction at seeing her son.

"Mom, why didn't you come to see me after? I saw you wanted to carry my son, but you did not," Hannah asked Dorothy, extending her swaddle to her. "Look, it's a boy...Mom, look at how happy he is to see you...."

But Dorothy stepped back. "Stay right there!" she yelled. "Don't bring that thing in here. It's a living, breathing misfortune and brings death...go away and do not come to see me with that sick child of yours."

Hannah was shocked and became teary-eyed. For a moment, she felt she had done something wrong by bringing her baby to her mother.

"B-but mom, he is your grandson," she cried. "How can you say this to him? I know you hate people with this condition, but he is your blood...he is your grandson...please don't hate him."

"Grandson? I only have three grandsons, and that child is not my grandson. Take him away and get out of here. Don't bring that thing into this house again, or you will see my worse side."

"Thing? You call your grandson a thing?" Hannah fumed. "I will never come here again! I promise!"

Those were the last words Dorothy heard Hannah say. That evening, she called her lawyer and immediately signed the paperwork to disinherit little Michael from her will.

For 16 years, Hannah raised the boy alone. She cut ties with her mother, and after her husband died, she worked as a clerk to provide for her son. She faced many challenges, but at the end of the day, she sighed peacefully after seeing her son smile.

One day, Michael curiously asked her about his family tree. He had heard his friends talk about their grandparents and was curious to know about his family too. Out of the blue, he asked Hannah about his grandparents, much to her shock.

"Mom, where are grandpa and grandma? I have never seen them," he curiously expressed. "Do you have their photos, and can you show them to me?"

"Your grandpa died several years ago, son," she said.

"Oh, I'm sorry...Then, what about grandma? Where is she?"

"Well, it's been many years since we last saw each other. Your granny lives very far from here, and we cannot go there."

"Cannot go there? But I want to see her. Can you please take me to her?"

"No, I'm sorry. Can we stop talking about this now? I have work in the kitchen."

It pained Hannah to lie to her son, but she had no choice. She did not want him to be disappointed once he saw his granny's true colors.

Meanwhile, Dorothy had become older and wiser. Her first three grandsons, Leo, Liam, and Mason, took up her business and grew into successful industrialists. She was proud of them and pleased whenever they involved her in all their decisions and matters.

"Ah, I still feel like a queen! I like it when my children and grandchildren listen to me," Dorothy often bragged. "You see, your granny can never go wrong. I am always right. And there is nothing you can say against me because you know the price you'd have to pay if you disobey me!"

Dorothy boasted about her decisions and disliked when her daughter and grandsons argued. She only wanted them to do what she felt was right, and there were no arguments.

Nobody dared to disobey Dorothy after she constantly threatened to disinherit them. Who would want to risk losing a $13M estate over some silly argument?

While all was well, old age slowly started to get the best of Dorothy. She often fell ill though she was determined to live long. She was happy and had forgotten entirely about Hannah and her son because they did not exist to her. Although she did not want to see them, her grandson did not feel the same way.

"Mom, I found this photo in your diary." Michael showed Hannah an old family photo. "Is this your mother? Is she my grandma?"

Hannah realized she could no longer hide the truth from her son.

"Mom, tell me, is she, grandma? I know her," Michael said, startling his mother.

"You know her? How do you know her, and did you talk to her?"

"Not really...She came to my school a few months ago as a guest. But I was not allowed to go to the hall. I saw her from a distance...Why haven't you seen her, and why has she not come to see us?"

At this point, Hannah decided to reveal the truth.

"You're right...She's your grandma, and she lives half an hour away. But does not wish to see you... because she hates you, son. She believes that people with Down syndrome are a threat and a misfortune. She refused to even look at you when I took you to her."

Hannah told Michael about her father's accident and how it impacted her mother, who started hating people with a congenital condition.

"But mom, it was not my fault...It wasn't grandpa Jeremy's fault either. We are God's special children, and granny needs to accept that," Michael cried. "Everyone is unique, and we were born for a reason. Why do people see our appearance when there is a lot to see in our hearts?"

Although Hannah was moved to tears by her son's words, she refused to allow him to meet his granny and made him swear he would never attempt to. With a heavy heart, Michael promised. But he still yearned to see his grandma, so he decided to break his promise partly.

For the next couple of months, Michael often stood on the road opposite Dorothy's house just to have a glimpse of her. Whenever he saw her, he wanted to run and hug her. But the promise he made to his mom stopped him, and he did not want to upset his granny again by showing his face to her.

One day, Michael went to his usual spot outside his grandma's house to see her. But she did not appear even two hours later. Curious and worried, he asked the security what happened, only to learn that Dorothy had passed away the previous night.

Torn between his promise to his mother and his love for his grandma, Michael was forced to make a choice. He stormed into the gate and was shocked to learn that his granny had already been taken to the cemetery for her funeral.

"I must see her one last time," he gasped and ran to the graveyard to pay his final respects.

Michael worried that his aunt and cousins would not even allow him near his granny's coffin. But he was determined and ran as fast as he could to see her face, only to witness something shocking there.

"What? Nobody is here for the funeral?" Michael exclaimed after seeing just a priest and a couple of strangers around Dorothy's coffin. "Where are my aunt and her sons? Why are they not here to say goodbye to grandma?"

As it turned out, Madison and her three sons were at the lawyer's office, waiting for late Dorothy's will to be disclosed. For so long, until her last breath, they had only curried favor with her for her money. They did not love her genuinely and did everything they could to win her heart to secure her wealth.

But Michael was unaware of all this and cried out to his grandma.

"Granny, I have come for you! Please look at me. I am sorry I wasn't able to meet you," he cried. "I am upset with you for keeping me away, but I still love and forgive you. Please give me one chance to talk to you and feel your love."

Soon, Hannah arrived at the graveyard. She was upset with her son for breaking his promise but knew it would not make a big difference now. Despite seeing her mom in a coffin, she only recalled Dorothy's bitterness toward her and Michael.

"Come, let's go home. What's the point in seeing her like this when she didn't even give us a chance to talk to her?" Hannah fumed.

"Mom, grandma is not with us anymore...She might have been hard outside, but we cannot blame her for being angry with us. Everyone has choices, and we cannot judge them by that."

For a moment, Hannah stood speechless, realizing she was wrong about her mother.

"Grandma is gone, taking her hatred for me to the grave. Now she deserves our love and respect. Let's honor her for all the good in her and forget her hatred for us, mom."

Moved by her son's words, Hannah placed a bouquet on her late mother's grave and cried. Later, she met her sister and nephews, who appeared unhappy after witnessing an unsuspecting blow at the lawyer's office.

As a twist of fate, Dorothy had modified her will without anyone's knowledge. According to her final will, only family members who paid their last respects to her at her funeral would get an inheritance.

Madison and her sons were shocked when the lawyer showed them the documents and told them someone else in their family would inherit Dorothy's $13M inheritance.

As it turned out, one of the strangers at the funeral was a junior lawyer in disguise to check who in Dorothy's family was present at her funeral and called Dorothy's lawyer when he witnessed Hannah and Michael's presence there.

Ultimately, Hannah and Michael became the legal heirs to late Dorothy's $13M estate, much to the shock and resentment of Madison and her sons.

While Hannah and Michael became rich overnight, they were unhappy because they were never after Dorothy's money. Hannah talked to her sister and nephews for the first time in several years.

"You can keep the money and mom's estate if you want. I will arrange for the paperwork. Mom is gone, and she's not coming back. What are we going to do with her money?" she said, hanging their heads in shame.

Madison and her sons realized that there are things more valuable than money. They regretted turning their backs on Hannah and Michael to please Dorothy.

The family reconciled, and though the mother and son were delighted, they regretted not being there with Dorothy during her final days. Hannah often visited her late mom's grave and spent long hours crying and begging for forgiveness.

"I should have at least made an effort to talk to you...I'm sorry, mom," she sobbed. "Please forgive me...But you should have talked to my son at least once. He loves you, mom."

Sadly, Dorothy never realized this and had never accepted Michael as her grandson till her last breath. While Hannah and Michael hope the granny will be happy for them from heaven, the hollowness and pain she left in their hearts will take a long time to heal.

What can we learn from this story?

• Never look down on someone. You may never know how they might step up for you. For so long, until her last breath, Dorothy resented her grandson with Down syndrome and disinherited him. She never gave him a chance to be her grandson or feel her love. But in the end, he was the only one to show up at her funeral.
• Never take your hatred for someone to the grave. Try to sort your differences before it is too late. Dorothy's hatred for her grandson never changed, even during her final days. Meanwhile, Hannah realized too late that she could have at least tried to sort out her differences with her mother. Dorothy passed away without meeting her grandson or talking to Hannah.

A dad who never knew he had a daughter unexpectedly met her one day. He misunderstood and cursed her when she asked for a favor, assuming she was a gold-digger. Shortly after, he begged her to give him one last chance after reading her final letter and will. Click here to read the full story.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.