Kiss Fan Signs Off In Style

Louisiana resident Philip James "Nino” Negri passed away earlier this month after a car accident and, reports Kissonline, his family decided to pay tribute to him in the most appropriate way possible. 

Negri was a lifelong Kiss fanatic who had invested thousands in memorabilia and tattoos over the years. 

Items from his collection were displayed in the anterooms of the funeral parlor. On a laptop next to a vintage KISS lunchbox, "Detroit Rock City” played quietly under a slideshow of photos of Nino and his friends and family, including his 11-year-old daughter, Lizzy. Above it, on a ceiling-mounted flat-screen TV, the 1995 KISS "MTV Unplugged” special played silently.

KISS posters and photos were mounted on easels; a clay KISS ashtray sat on a side table. A flower arrangement in the shape of a Gibson Flying V guitar stood beside the urn holding Nino’s ashes, on top of which stood a tiny action figure of KISS lead guitarist Ace Frehley.

Friends and family were asked to attend adorned in KISS clothing and the service culminated in a revised a capella version of 'I Was Made For Loving You'.

The band's official website says: "There is no official protocol for a funeral to send off a member of the KISS Army, the fan club for the band started in the ’70s, but it’s hard to imagine doing a better job than the Negri family did for Nino."

(Kissonline)