Larry Darrell Upright took his conservatism with him to the grave and demanded that his funeral be decorated not with flowers but with promises to block Hillary Clinton’s path to the presidency.
Upright, a North Carolina Republican who died at the age of 81 the day after Clinton announced her presidential bid, started a national movement when he and his family asked in his obituary that loved ones pay their respects by not voting for Clinton.
The response was tremendous. Many of Upright’s acquaintances expressed their condolences on the website of Whitley’s Funeral Home and promised to honor him by refusing Clinton their vote. After the obituary gained national media attention, several individuals who did not know Upright in life expressed gratitude for his humor and high personal values.
"Thank you for your service to this country, and so sorry for your loss," an individual who identified himself as Barack Obama wrote on the obituary webpage. "No, I will NOT be voting for HiLIARy Clinton."
In death, Upright gave birth to a trend among the nation’s ailing. At least two individuals—Richard Buckman of Arkansas, and Elaine Fyrdrych of Gloucester New Jersey—who died after Upright also requested in their obituaries that loved ones not vote for Clinton.
The trend illuminated the Democratic presidential candidate’s unpopularity even among those in her own age group. Upright was just 14 years Clinton’s senior and Buckman only eight years older than Clinton. Fyrdrych was four years younger than Clinton at the time of her death.
A loss for Clinton in the 2016 election will cement Upright’s legacy as an influential Republican. Regardless, he will be immortalized as a Free Beacon Man of the Year.
