Trivia 'It was time': Thai man who kept wife's body at home for 21 years comes to terms with her death

[Saturn]

Former army medic Charn Janwatchakal, 73, had for 21 years lived with his late wife's body as he could not bear to cremate her after she died of illness in 2001.

"I've kept her body for 20 years, I think it's long enough," said Mr Charn after finally cremating her body on April 30.

The couple first met in 1972 at an army hospital where Mr Charn was a patient and Madam Jirawan worked as a pharmacist. They married soon after and have two sons.

"I was impressed by her diligence," said Mr Charn, adding that he felt instant attraction from the first time he laid eyes on her.

"We never quarrelled. She was always super calm, serene and never got angry at anyone," he said.

In late 2001, Madam Jirawan, then 55, fainted after suffering a brain aneurysm and died three days after being hospitalised.

"I didn't get to say any last words to her. She was unconscious and couldn't hear anything," Mr Charn said.

While he registered her death with the authorities and conducted religious rites then, he and his sons - who were both undergraduates at the time - decided not to cremate her.

"We decided that we did not want to interrupt their studies," said Mr Charn, adding that all of them found it emotionally difficult to "let go" and go through with the cremation.

For over two decades, Madam Jirawan Khaosun's body laid in a coffin that was hidden in a derelict shed at the far end of a residential compound.

Mr Charn would sit on the doorstep of the shed to read books or chat with his wife "as if she were alive".

"I would always talk to her about my two sons. How (they) passed (their) exams," he said.

It took more than 20 years, but Mr Charn said he finally felt like he had emotionally come to terms with his wife's death and could go through with the cremation.

When asked if he was ever scared about keeping a body around, Mr Charn said: "No, I was never scared because I love her."

On the Saturday of the cremation, Mr Charn was visibly emotional throughout the ceremony and said his grief was no less than 21 years ago.

"But I felt certain that it was time and I felt at peace although I cried," he said.

Madam Jirawan's ashes now rest in an urn in the shed and Mr Charn continues to sit by the door whenever he wants to talk to her.

Mr Charn still thinks about his wife every day, saying: "She is still alive in my feelings."

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