Are There Benefits to Having a Wooden Mannequin-Wife?
In one of my favourite movies, Weekend at Bernie’s Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman’s dead boss was dragged around in the Hamptons one weekend so no one would find out he was dead. Could this happen in real life?
Ned and Teagan Nefer are spending their summer vacation in upstate New York. Mr. Nefer is quite the living husband and is often found pushing his wife of 25 years around in a wheelchair. In a Weekend at Bernie’s moment, Teagan is not actually a woman. Instead of blood pumping through her veins she is actually a wooden mannequin.
Ned actually found the mannequin head back in the 1980’s and attached it to a fabric body. Not content with that, he actually married her on Halloween night back in 1986.
The couple have attracted attention worldwide and even inspired Facebook fan sites. Erin LeClair and her fiance, Steve Kalwarovski, first saw them on Facebook in February and finally met them by chance. At the time Mr. Teagan was in a lot of pain as he was pushing his wife and their groceries 40 miles to his campsite.
LeClair commented "Despite what you may think, Ned is very nice.”
She was also quick to dismiss that while she's not a mental health expert, she doesn't believe that Nefer is mentally ill. Mrs. Leclair said although Ned's wife does not talk much she does speak to her husband. Leclair also added that he was extremely intelligent, polite and kind to them.
I know upstate New York fairly well and do believe that anyone pushing a mannequin in a wheelchair for any distance is a rarity. The couple has had their background investigated by Jefferson County Sheriff John P. Burns. The Sheriff said that Ned’s name has been shortened but does have a state Department of Motor Vehicles identification card. He also added that he does not have a valid driver’s license and loves photography.
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