Writing an obituary can be an extremely difficult and daunting task, but this family decided to add some humour to their loss.

Johanna R Scarpitti's obituary began with the words "Ding Dong the witch is dead", referencing the famous death of the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz.

The obituary, which appeared in Delaware's News Journal last week, could be misconstrued as an insensitive remark but was in fact a reference to a long running private joke the 70-year-old grandmother had with her family. 

The Wizard of Oz theme ran throughout the funeral arrangements, with the family even dressing Scarpitti in black and white stockings and red ruby slippers like the infamous witch from the film for her burial. 

Scarpitti's daughter told the Delaware Journal, "That was something between us and there was nothing that was going to stop me … Even if I ended up getting bad reports and people going against me, it had nothing to do with them. This is something she wanted me to do so I did it."

The full obituary which was published in the local paper read:

"Ding dong the witch is dead, but the memory of our mother lives on. Johanna Scarpitti, age 70, of New Castle, DE, passed away unexpectedly August 1, 2014 at her summer home.

"Johanna was a kind-hearted woman; a loving mother and wife who spoiled her grandchildren without complaint. She was sweet with a side of zest. Johanna loved the beach, boating, kayaking and that incredible drink from The Lazy Lizard. She will be incredibly missed by all who knew her… [a] whole bunch.

" survived by her husband of 46 years, Joseph; her children: William Scarpitti, Nicole (Vaughn) LeSage, and Assunta (Mark) Lucy; and grandchildren: Jacquelyn (Sean) Rash, Nathan, Dylan, Cathryn, Anna, Gillian, Joseph, Bryan and Courtney."