'Her presence will not be missed': Scathing tribute to 86-year-old great grandmother goes viral

A scathing obituary for a North Carolina great grandmother has left some members of her family devastated after it was published in a local newspaper.

Cornelia June Rogers Miller died aged 86 in February, but four months later the scorching words appeared in the Cherokee Scout.

Now, having made its way to social media, the obituary has gone viral and has been read by thousands worldwide.

"We are thankful for the life that was issued forth because of June. We wish she could have appreciated the abundance of life she was given," the obituary read.

"Drugs were a major love in her life as June had no hobbies, made no contribution to society and rarely shared a kind word or deed in her life.

"Please let June Miller's life be a cautionary tale. Addiction and hatred are no es bueno for the living.

"We speak for the majority of her family when we say her presence will not be missed by many, very few tears will be shed, and there will be no lamenting over her passing."

The obituary added: "Her family will remember June, and amongst ourselves we will remember her in our own way, which were mostly sad and troubling times throughout the years. We may have some fond memories of her, and perhaps we will think of those times, too.

"But we truly believe at the end of the day all of us will really only miss what we never had – a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. We hope she is finally at peace."

Soon after it was published however, the obituary came to the attention of Miller's oldest son, Robert, who was distressed by the words and said they were untrue.

He added that he believed one of his sisters was responsible as it emerged that it was likely plagiarised from a 2008 obituary for Dolores Aguilar published in the Vallejo Times Herald.

"Unbelievable. [She] doesn't even have the integrity to write something for herself – just goes out and steals something," Miller told WTVC.

His sister has denied the claim and, complicating matters further, the Cherokee Scout has refused to say who submitted the tribute.

The newspaper's publisher, David Brown, said "the family's will overrode the editor" when they decided to publish the obituary.

Miller added he would like to identify who was behind the obituary, if it was not his sister.