26 February 2023 , 14:16
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A retired teacher was buried in a chocolate themed M&M casket for her funeral in tribute to her former students.
Ex-language and arts teacher Mary Stocks Martin, from Arizona, US, decided to build the casket with her son after her pupils used to nickname her "M&M" due to her initials.
Students would often gift her M&M gifts which would fill up her classrooms, according to her family.
He loved ones decided to continue the tradition by honouring the theme at her burial on Saturday after the teacher passed away earlier this month.
Family and friends turned up in chocolate style M&M's as they paid tribute to the grandmother which, according to her grandchildren, would have made her smile.
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The chocolate style M&M casket made her family and friends laugh (Fox11)Lisa Richardson, Mary's daughter-in-law, wrote on Facebook: "'Her only regret was that she wasn’t going to be able to attend her own funeral to see people’s faces.
Her casket was in the style of a huge blue M&M and, in the centre, featured the names of her children: Steven Douglas Martin, William Gary Martin, Cindy Elaine Roundtree, and Thomas Dan Martin.
All the little M&Ms contained her grandchildren's names (Fox11)Lisa said the theme was a homage to students who would often bombard her with M&M memorabilia.
She added: "M&M’s were her theme. She was a teacher for 30 years and her initials were MM so her student gave her M&M's memorabilia until she had an entire room full of it."
The teacher remarkably taught over 5,000 students during her 30-year career and left an impression on her former pupils.
James Owen, a former student, wrote on Facebook: "'She always, ALWAYS, believed in me, and I got to see her every week for the last several years. And in the most Mary thing ever, she requested to be buried in a giant M&M."
Mary Stocks Martin was a beloved teacher who passed away earlier this month (Fox11)Scott, her grandson, uploaded pictures of the burial and confessed her gran was right all along - as everyone loved the casket.
He said: "You were right [Grandma] we all loved your casket."
Scott said he would miss his gran who provided him lots of treats and, of course, dozens of M&Ms.
He wrote on Facebook: "You fought so hard. I miss you so much. 'I’m gonna miss the popcorn, The Rice Krispies, and most of all those hugs."
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Mary, who was also a swimming teacher, retired in 2000 to spend more time with her grandkids.