OSCEOLA, Ark. — Osceola, located about 50 miles northwest of Memphis, is a small, quiet town that’s proud of its past and its historic leaders.
But the Latham family is giving death a break and pumping new life into the community with the force of a smack down. LaFonce Latham aka “Big Daddy” is the family patriarch.
“When you do this all week-long you need some life. So, Friday night wrestling, here we come. I lace up my boots and get in the ring, and sometimes on Friday night, (opponents) pay for my trauma I’ve had all week-long,” LaFonce said with a laugh.
What the Lathams do might surprise you. They’re professional wrestlers by night who run the Mid-Southern Wrestling League. By day, they’re morticians. They’ve owned and run the Wilson Funeral Home for more than 30 years.
“There’s a time to be serious, and at Wilson Funeral Home, we are very serious. This is such a service to people at such a trying time, but I love to have fun and I have found a lot of fun at the wrestling,” LaFonce said.
The Lathams story caught the attention of one of their wrestling fans who’d come back to Osceola for a funeral, but had no idea the Lathams were also undertakers.
“He knew us as wrestlers. When he found out we do some of both, he said, that’s a reality show, and he had a friend and he picked up the phone and called him, and next thing you know, I was receiving calls,” Lafonce said.
That led to the WGN America reality show “Wrestling with Death.” You’ll find LaFonce’s wife, Sandra, proudly showing off the selection room where families come to make funeral arrangements.
Wrestling fans know her as Ms. Sandra. She had retired from wrestling a few years ago, but her husband, Lafonce, brought her back into the ring.
“Ms. Sandra, it should be junkyard dog, mean as a damn rattlesnake. She loves taking it out on me. She is probably as rough and as good of a lady wrestler that you’ll ever run across,” LaFonce said.
She’s a winner in the ring, and also when it comes to beating breast cancer.
“When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I really I didn’t tell a lot of people, but I want to encourage women to know that anything is possible and never let cancer take that from you,” Sandra said.
Even before the premier of “Wrestling with Death,” some of the wrestlers who enter the ring were already stars and larger than life in the eyes of their fans.
One night, Ms. Sandra and her son-in-law, Derrick King, tagged team to put a death hold on two opponents. Derrick is also in the family business and learning the ropes of being a mortician.
“Death, wrestling, they do not go hand in hand. They’re two opposite ends of the world, but we make it fun. But not to make light of any situation with death,” Derrick said.
They also believe the family that wrestles together, stays together. They say their story is one viewers will find to be possibly as fun and interesting as another famous reality TV family.
“Reality TV is the buzz around the world, and I dare say the Kardashians, but here are the Lathams…and who knows, this could be big and there could be paparazzi here every Friday night,” Derrick said with a laugh.
“I hope it’s a show the family can watch together and laugh, and for families who’ve lost someone, see how this is professionally done and actually can be a tribute to their loved ones,” Sandra said.
“Wrestling with Death,” call it a show about life in the ring and dealing with death in the funeral business.
For ‘Big Daddy’ Latham, it’s a unique way of life he hopes to take to his grave.
“I want to leave this world someday with people saying he was a good man who loved helping people. Big Daddy loved helping people,” Lafonce said.
“Wrestling with Death” premiers Tuesday at 9 p.m.. You can catch it on WREG’s sister station, WGN America.
