'When I die, I'm going to be a gorilla' - Brave child pens own obituary before dying of cancer

A brave five-year-old boy helped pen his own obituary before he lost his battle with cancer, saying: "When I die, I'm going to be a gorilla."

In the tear-jerking funny obituary, little Garrett Matthias reveals how he wants to be "burned and made into a tree" after his death.

This is so "I can live in it when I'm a gorilla", he says.

He also declares that funerals are "sad" - so he wants five bouncy houses (the same number as his age), Batman and some snow cones.

Garrett, who loved Batman and other superheroes like Thor and Iron Man, died from a rare form of pediatric cancer last Friday.

Despite undergoing "nine months of hell", he fought the disease with remarkable courage, never losing his brilliant sense of humour.

And fittingly, his obituary, published by a funeral home in Iowa, US, is signed off: "See ya later, suckas! – The Great Garrett Underpants.”

The youngster, who lived in Iowa, was asked a series of questions by his devoted parents, Emilie and Ryan Matthias before he passed away.

The words he spoke to them now form his touching obituary.

At the start of the obituary, Garrett declares his name is "Garrett Michael Boofias" - a surname that he made up because his real name, Matthias, was too difficult for him to pronounce, CNN reports.

He says he is five, lists his favourite colours and superheroes, and declares he's going to be a professional boxer when he grows up.

As for his address, he simply says: "I am a Bulldog!"

He goes on to declare that when he dies, he is "going to be a gorilla and throw poo at Daddy!". And in terms of being either "burned of buried," he says: "I want to be burned (like when Thor’s Mommy died) and made into a tree so I can live in it when I’m a gorilla."

He adds of his funeral: "Funerals are sad: I want five bouncy houses (because I’m five), Batman, and snow cones."

Garrett, whose beloved sister Delphina is six, had been battling Alveolar Fusion Negative Rhabdomyosarcoma since last September.

Cancer attacked his temporal bone, cranial nerve, inner ear, according to a GoFundMe page set up for him earlier this month.

It eventually spread to other parts of his body. In June, Ryan and Emilie were told their little boy's disease was terminal.

In the obituary, Garrett reveals how he hates "dirty stupid cancer", needles and when medics have to access his port.

He also says he dislikes pants.

But speaking of what he loves the most, he says he adores playing with his sister, his blue bunny, thrash metal, and Lego.

Among his "favourite people" are his mum, dad, sister, grandparents, cousins, auntie and uncles - as well as, of course, Batman.

Speaking to WHOTV, Ryan said the words printed in the moving obituary sound exactly like his son talking to him and Emilie.

"That's him speaking. Those are his words verbatim," he said. "When I read it, I'm just like 'wow, sounds like Garrett just yapping at me'."

Emilie told the Des Moines Register: "We really tried to use his words and the way that he talked. Garrett was a very unique individual.

"What I really didn’t want was for his obituary to be ordinary and to have a really sad funeral. We’ve cried oceans of tears for the last nine months."

While undergoing treatment for his cancer, Garrett would prank medics - from using whoopy cushions to "hazing" interns.

He never lost his sense of humour.

Ryan and Emilie will honour their boy's final wishes tomorrow evening with a celebration of life and a fireworks display.

A private burial of his ashes will take place at a later time, "once his parents figure out how the hell to get his ashes made into a tree and locate a nature preserve, so his tree resides in a protected area".

The youngster's family have vowed to fight for a cure for pediatric cancer "until no other kids are robbed of their childhood".

They say it is an "ugly, nasty beast" that leaves a "path of destruction".