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A grandmother in Arizona made sure her funeral would reflect her colorful and fun personality with an M&M-shaped casket.
Mary Stocks Martin, a retired teacher from Snowflake, Arizona, died on Feb. 9, at the age of 86, according to her obituary published by the Silver Creek Mortuary, a local funeral home and cremation provider.
Her funeral was held at the LDS Love Lake Chapel in Taylor, Arizona, on Feb. 18, where guests were able to see Martin’s unique casket during the wake and graveside service.
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Billy Martin, one of Martin's grandsons, told FOX 10 Phoenix that Martin worked as a schoolteacher for 30 years.
Mary Stocks Martin, born on April 29, 1936, was a school teacher in Arizona for 30 years and a pool manager for 28 years. She died on Feb. 9, 2023, at the age of 86. (Julia Martin)
"She used to initial everything ‘MSM,’ but that 'S,' in cursive of course, looks like M&M," he said. "The students started bringing her M&Ms, memorabilia and it just turned into something that she reflected on as part of her success as a teacher."
Martin reportedly built her M&M-shaped casket, with help from her son, years before her death.
Mary Stocks Martin built her own M&M-shaped casket in honor of her nickname. Schoolchildren often thought her initials looked like the word M&M when written in cursive. (FOX 10 Phoenix/Julia Martin)
The Martin family said the casket was modeled after one of Martin’s favorite M&M spokecandies – the blue almond M&M which has been aptly named "Blue" by Mars, Inc.
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Blue was introduced as an M&M spokescandy in 1995. He has an ellipsoid-shaped body due to his almond core and has been branded as having a calm and cool personality, according to advertising materials.
Martin’s casket captured the essence of Blue, which featured the close-eyed M&M while his hands held miniature candies that had the names of Martin’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren etched onto each.
Snippets of the M&M-themed funeral were shared in a video slideshow that was uploaded to TikTok by Martin’s grandson, Scott Roundtree, on Feb. 19.
The video has been viewed more than 9.2 million times and has received more than 1.4 million likes.
Fox News Digital reached out to Roundtree for comment.
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The video shows funeral attendees wearing M&M t-shirts and hats. A single red hat was left on Martin’s casket.
TikTok users complimented Martin on her fun casket choice in the video comment section.
"She told us before she passed, ‘I want pictures of the coffin to go out. I want people to see it,’" Martin’s son, William Martin, recalled in an interview with FOX 10 Phoenix.
Mary Stocks Martin's M&M-shaped casket featured the names of all her loved ones on miniature-sized candies, which were arranged between the larger M&M character's hands. (Julia Martin)
Funeral attendees also honored Martin by dropping M&Ms on her casket, according to the local TV news station.
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Martin is survived by four children, 19 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
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