AN AMERICAN woman who loved pranks made one final joke — from beyond the grave.

Norma R. Brewer wrote her own obituary with a friend 11-years-ago and plotted to have it printed as soon as she died. The epitaph, published in the Connecticut Post, claimed that the 83-year-old died because her dog Mia devoured her socks and boots at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro — leaving her vulnerable to the elements.

“Norma Rae Flicker Brewer, a resident of Fairfield, passed away while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro,” read the notice.

“She never realised her life goal of reaching the summit, but made it to the base camp. Her daughter, Donna, her dog, Mia, and her cats, came along at the last minute.

“There is suspicion that Mrs. Brewer died from hypothermia, after Mia ate Mrs. Brewer’s warm winter boots and socks.

“This is typical of our mum,” Donna Brewer, Norma’s daughter, told the Connecticut Post.

“People who don’t know my mother are bemused. People who knew my mother are laughing and saying, ‘Yeah, that’s Donna.’”

Donna has been fielding many phone calls from bewildered wellwishers, asking what the 83-year-old was doing trying to climb a mountain.

“Mum believed that life was for enjoying, and that a joke could help heal most hardships,” Donna explained.

“I’ll miss her, and her sense of humour, very much indeed.”

All other details of the obituary were accurate, but Norma R. Brewer actually died of a stroke.

— With Splash News