Family Plots

Mum's the Word (1x9)

: 14, 2004

The girls' mother (and Chuck's ex-wife since 1989), comes by the mortuary to lend a hand on a very busy day. Mom, Sue, bears an eerie resemblance to all three of the daughters. Shonna teaches mom how to properly answer the telephones. John meets with a Mormon family to make arrangements for their mother. According to the Mormon religion, it is customary for the family to dress the deceased. Shonna assists the family with dressing their mother. Shonna is exhausted from a very stress-filled work day and her mom comforts her. Melissa asks mom to type some obituaries but mom hasn't typed in years and makes her objections known. Shonna acts as a mediator between Chuck and Sue since there is clearly still some tension between the two of them. After work, while driving to her mother's for dinner, Shonna reflects on her relationship with her mother over the years. The three daughters arrive at mom's for a dinner of her famous Swedish meatballs. They begin looking at photos and reminisce about