Shortly before those events, Quoyle's elderly parents die by suicide together. Quoyle's aunt, Agnis Hamm, arrives to pay her respects to her late brother, though her real motive is to steal Guy's ashes (which she later dumps down an outhouse hole and urinates on).
In the lead-up to those devastating events, Quoyle's elderly parents committed suicide together. Agnis Hamm arrives to pay her respects to her deceased brother, but her true intention is to obtain Guy's ashes (which she later disposes of by dumping them in a septic tank and urinating on them).