François Bereaud is a husband, dad, math professor, mentor, and mediocre hockey player. He is the author of SAN DIEGO STORIES from Cowboy Jamboree Press. In 2026, Stanchion Press will publish his novel, A QUESTION OF FAMILY.

His story ‘Funeral Hopping’, written for THE BARE BONES BOOK OF HUMOUR, is about an eager man who has singular experiences on a series of funerals. 

The anthology’s editor Ankit Raj Ojha asked him how the story was born.

Tell us about your perspective on humour and its place in writing and in life.

Humour has a huge part in my life. As a community college math professor, my biggest hurdle is to help many of my students overcome deep math anxiety. A large way that I do so is through humour. It’s not that my classroom is a comedy club, but I often poke fun at myself which keeps the classroom light. Humour shows us a perspective on matters. In a leader, I find it to be a quality of invitation. As to writing, I haven’t written much of it, but I do appreciate reading it. My all-time favorite humor writer is Gary Shtyengart. 

What are the things, works, and authors that have influenced your writing? 

Thanks for this light, easy question, Ankit! I already had to be funny for this anthology, now you want me to think deeply? My writing is most influenced by a combination of a love of literature and observing humans and their stories in daily life. Too many authors to even begin a list but a favorite novel, coming-of-age and very funny, is JACK THE BEAR by Dan McCall. 

Is there any image, phrase, idea, place, person, or memory that became the seed for ‘Funeral Hopping’? 

This summer, my wife and I went to two funerals/memorial services in one day, one on her side and one on mine. The family members that died were both older folks struggling with dementia, so there was a quality of mercy to the end of their lives. The funerals couldn’t have been more different. One was a grand affair with a large Mexican family, the other a backyard gathering for a small Jewish family. The tones, cultures, food, and speeches were worlds apart in many ways. The experience of the day served as the kernel of the idea for my story, though the details in my story bear no resemblance to either funeral.