Heath Ledger - News Accounts

[Jeff Wrangler]

In Australia, a viewing is held prior to the funeral. It is exactly what it implies, the viewing of the deceased in the coffin, prior to interment.

After the funeral/interment of the coffin, comes the wake. The wake can take many forms from formal and dignified to highly alcoholic and out of control. It all depends on the tradition within each individual family. So-called "Irish" wakes are loud, boozy and out of control.

This is more or less the way things are done among my people in Central Pennsylvania, except that nobody calls the gathering after the burial a wake. Burials usually take place in the late morning, and afterwards lunch is typically provided for those who attended. Nobody calls the lunch anything but lunch. I always understood a wake to be an event that takes place before the burial. At the risk of seeming irreverent, the idea of providing lunch after the funeral always reminds me of the line from A Christmas Carol, where the businessmen are discussing Scrooge's funeral, and one says, "I'll go if lunch is provided." 

I also see very little black at funerals, but in the case of my family, anyway, I think that may mainly be a concession to economics. Most of my relatives are lower middle to working class, and if the menfolk own a suit at all it's apt to be dark blue or dark gray. We don't need lots of "dressy" clothes, so a black suit that got trotted out and worn only for funerals would be impractical and a waste of money. I don't have to "dress" for work, and I wore dark gray to my mother's funeral. She died in December, and the dark gray was my "winter" suit for going to church. Mother always said that she didn't want a viewing, so we didn't have one.

A long time ago, when I was younger and thinner and more clothes-conscious, I did own a black suit. When I wore it to a funeral, I got told to my face that I looked like the undertaker/funeral director.

I saw film of the funeral procession, and of Michelle with Heath's sister, on the news this morning.

I agree with Leslie re: Jake: If I'd gone all the way to Australia, I'd want to attend the service, hang the media. Obviously, the service wasn't limited to family.

[MaineWriter]

I have seen various news reports about the number of people at the funeral, ranging from 100, to 300, to 600.

Kim Ledger's wife has been named Mary in one report, and Ines is another.

So much for getting the facts right!

But no source has mentioned Jake and he is not in any picture I have seen.

L

[delalluvia]

Just to enlighten you about what we wear here in Austraia to a funeral......most people DONT wear black anymore.....it seems that any clothing is suitable and obviously as long as its tasteful.

In a lot of cases where it is a funeral for young people, a lot of the mourners are also young and a lot of the young blokes wear jeans and a nice shirt.

And it is summer here so casual clothing is obviously more comfortable....

The colour of ones clothing, is not considered a matter of importance at all.

And the wake, is a gathering of the mourners, usually after the funeral.

Ah, the new generation.  My mother would be appalled.  It's not a matter of being comfortable, it's a matter of showing respect.  My mother's generation believed - and she taught me - that wearing jeans or other casual clothes to something like a funeral demonstated you couldn't be bothered to dress up and you were thinking more about yourself and your comfort than the seriousness of the event you were going to.

Now for Heath, the guy never did stand on ceremony and wasn't much of a fashion maven - unfortunately - so I can definitely understand the casual aspect. 

[delalluvia]

I read in Elle a while back (I think it was Elle) that it really isn't necessary to wear black to a funeral these days, especially during the summer, and it IS summer in Australia now. Any toned down color is appropriate - pastels, earth tones, beige, egg shell, gray, and black. Combining too many colors should be avoided. Keep it simple and respectful.

Red is definitely a color you want to avoid wearing to a funeral. Other bright colors should be avoided too.

Unless you want to make a point.  If a certain friend of mine suddenly died, I would certainly wear a red dress to his funeral.  He is partially color-blind, the only colors he can make out are strong colors like red.  He likes me in red, so I would do it for him.

[delalluvia]

I know this is unlikely but maybe he [Jake] stayed with Matilda. She wasn't seen there either.

I like this idea a lot.

Or else, it was just rumor and he didn't go at all.

[delalluvia]

I agree with Leslie re: Jake: If I'd gone all the way to Australia, I'd want to attend the service, hang the media. Obviously, the service wasn't limited to family.

Maybe he wasn't going to attend the funeral, but he went all the way to Perth to meet the family and to watch Matilda because Michelle asked him to.

[souxi]

I have seen various news reports about the number of people at the funeral, ranging from 100, to 300, to 600.

Kim Ledger's wife has been named Mary in one report, and Ines is another.

So much for getting the facts right!

But no source has mentioned Jake and he is not in any picture I have seen.

L

Yes I,ve seen wild variations on the number of people at the funeral too. Again no mention of Jake. I expect we,ll find out eventually, although as Leslie said, I can,t imagine him flying all the way to Australia and not attending, but llike I said, we,ll find out eventually I expect. I like the idea of the wake on the beach, I think Heath would have liked that.

[opinionista]

Maybe he wasn't going to attend the funeral, but he went all the way to Perth to meet the family and to watch Matilda because Michelle asked him to.

Regardless of what Jake might have done, I would like to think that someone took Matilda someplace fun instead of making her stay home with a nanny. To the zoo or a theme park, for example. Maybe Jake did that, and the timing was probably perfect because the media was going to focus solely on the funeral. Young children don't understand grief and in times like that I think it is a good idea to encourage to have some fun, but that's me.

[MaineWriter]

Looking at the pictures, I really like Michelle's dress, and it seems very appropriate.

My mother used to have special notepaper for writing sympathy notes. It was cream colored, with a black border and black border on the flap on the envelope. Michelle's dress reminds me of that with the black edging on the cream material.

I think she looks lovely, and it is nice to see a picture of her smiling.

L

[Kd5000]

How can he be going into the family if his remains have already been cremated per this article in People.com?  I thought he was going to be buried with his grandparents. 

Thanks for some of the beach photos ppl have posted.  A welcome change from the photos and tv imagery we have grown accustomed to seeing. 

Heath Ledger Cremated in Fremantle, Australia
By Brenda Rodriguez and Melenie Ambrose

Originally posted Saturday February 09, 2008 03:00 AM EST
Heath Ledger
 
Photo by: Vera Anderson / WireImage 
Heath Ledger's remains were cremated Saturday afternoon, local time, PEOPLE has confirmed.

Following a memorial at Penrhos College for hundreds of mourners, Michelle Williams, escorted by police, arrived with a small entourage of Ledger's closest family for a more intimate service at Fremantle Cemetery, just outside Perth, Australia. The chapel at Fremantle, which was blacked out with sheets and scaffolding, has only eight wooden pews and a lectern.

There, Williams read William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 (“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”).

"It was a very emotional service,” a source tells PEOPLE.

Less than an hour after arriving, the mourners were spotted putting their arms around a clearly distressed Williams and hugging the chaplain in gratitude as they departed.

From there, they headed to the Indiana Tea House on Cottesloe Beach, where attendees from the earlier memorial could be seen smoking and drinking beer and red and white wine on the patio of the establishment, which has a spectacular view of the ocean. Williams was visibly shaken and looked like she had just been crying when she entered the restaurant.