A daughter decided to take one last shot at her ‘violent, hateful and cruel’ mother as she condemned her in a scathing obituary.
In a fiery ‘tribute’ following the death of Linda Lernel Stull in Michigan on December 12, her daughter Gayle Harvey Heckman wrote in her hometown paper that she subjected her to years of physical, verbal, emotional and sexual abuse.
‘Lernell allowed for her many inappropriate suitors to sexually abuse Gayle,’ a section of the shocking obituary read. It concluded that her family ‘all understand that the world is a much better place without her.’
After the obituary sparked a huge reaction online, Willcox Newspaper, which published the piece, tore it down from their website and apologized, claiming it was ‘submitted through our website, and was published without a good look on our part.’
Heckman hit out at the decision to un-publish the obituary, and criticized the newspaper’s stance to ‘protect and shield child abusers’, according to a purported response shared to X.
Linda Lernel Stull (pictured) was condemned as a ‘violent, hateful and cruel’ mother in her obituary written by her daughter
The scathing ‘tribute’ was written by her daughter Gayle Harvey Heckman because she wanted to ‘clear my name’, she said
Heckman hardly pulled any punches as she summed up her mother’s life, and told the Sturgis Journal she decided to write the savage eulogy ‘to clear my name.’
‘For 24 years and before that, my mother has had to come up with a reason as to why her daughter isn’t in her life that doesn’t make her look like a monster.… I had to reclaim my name,’ she said.
Heckman opened the obituary – which used the alternate spellings ‘Lernel’, ‘Lernell’ and ‘Lernal’ – by noting her mother was ‘welcomed to the world by loving parents’ on October 1, 1951, and she went on to give birth to her first child, Gayle, in 1969.
‘Lernel deceived her first husband, Roderick Alan Harvey, into believing that he was her first child’s biological father,’ the tribute read.
‘They married and divorced when Gayle was 3-years-old. Lernel then had Gayle adopted by her 2nd husband, Frank Randall Cullum. They divorced after a decade of marriage – Gayle never heard from Frank again.’
Heckman then dropped the bombshell that ‘Lernal’s 3rd husband, James Floyd Hart, sexually abused Gayle when she was 13. Instead of protecting her daughter, Lernal accused Gayle of “trying to steal her husband” and proceeded to beat her senselessly.’
‘After another divorce, Lernel acquired her 4th husband through the (unofficial or illegible) word-of-mouth inmate-run Jackson State Prison pen pal ‘program”, the piece continued.
‘In between and during her marriages, there were a variety of unsavory men in and out of our home.
‘As a mother, Lernal was violent, hateful, and cruel. She physically, mentally, emotionally, verbally, and financially abused Gayle.
‘Lernell allowed for her many inappropriate suitors to sexually abuse Gayle. Lernel’s abuse continued into Gayles’s adulthood, attempting to physically, verbally, emotionally, and mentally abuse her in front of her children.
‘Gayle had to establish a no-contact order to protect herself and her family. That was 24 years ago.’
She said that in March of 2023, she unexpectedly found out who her biological father was ‘through a popular online DNA service’.
‘After years of deception from Lernel regarding who Gayle’s father was, Gayle and her family are navigating the waters of getting to know their paternal biological family.
‘This is it. Lernal will never be the mother and grandmother that she could have chosen to be to her family. That door is closed forever with her death. That is what Gayle and her family grieve, who their mother and grandmother could have been.
‘While they are afraid that Gayle, her husband, and their 4 children can not share their grief, their heartache lies with Lernal’s brothers and sisters, their aunts, uncles, and cousins, as they grieve the death of a complicated family member, whom they love very much.
‘Lernal passed away December 12, 2023, in Three Rivers, MI, and will now face judgment.
‘Gayle and her family forgive Lernal and hope that she has found peace. They also hope to find peace within themselves.
‘Lernal will not be missed by Gayle or her family. They all understand that the world is a much better place without her.’
When the eye-popping obituary was published, it sparked a huge online reaction, leading the publisher to admit they didn’t actually read it before allowing the piece to go to print.
‘It was submitted through our website, and was published without a good look on our part,’ said Mike Wilcox, the publisher of Wilcox Newspaper.
‘We took it down from (the) website after complaints about its content poured in. After taking (it) down, several (mostly the daughter) complaints and phone calls were received admonishing us for doing so.’
In a purported response from Heckman to the obituary being un-published, she sharply criticized the decision from the newspaper and branded them ‘child abuse apologists’
In a purported response from Heckman shared to X, she slammed the decision to un-publish the piece.
‘As most survivors know, we expect to be attacked by child abuse apologists for not falling into line,’ she reportedly said.
‘Especially, when there’s deep generational trauma. My name has been defamed by my abuser for my entire life.
‘Most especially, when she had to explain why her daughter wasn’t in her life. The obituary in part, was to reclaim my name.
‘To set the record straight once and for all. I am Lernals daughter. I am her ‘family’. My truth, just like the obituary, isn’t fake.
‘Wilcox paper has made their stance clear. They protect and shield child abusers. Even in death. People who protect monsters are no different to me than my abuser.’