Ian Frater, who was 89 when he died last week, had his death notice published in the Otago Daily Times on Saturday.
The notice was initially something of a surprise to his younger brother, Les, but he said it just reflected what his older brother was like.
"He had a good sense of humour and knew a lot of people", he said.
"It is a just a brief summary of how he saw things. We did not ask him why, but you read it, it’s self-explanatory really."
Ian Frater had given the notice to his lawyer and given instructions to insert the death notice upon his death.
He was the second oldest of 11 siblings and grew up on a farm in Earnscleugh, just outside Alexandra.
He worked at the Firestone tyre factory in Christchurch.
His landlord in Christchurch, who came from Italy, became his wife and the couple married in the 1960s and spent a long period in Italy.
His wife, Tina, died about 10 years ago.
Ian Frater returned to Alexandra where he owned just under 3ha in Earnscleugh and worked on the land, looking after some old fruit trees.
He lived in his own house, on his own, in Alexandra.
He wanted his funeral, in Alexandra tomorrow, to be one of fun and laughter, and his brother hoped that would be the way it played out.
— Staff reporter
