Although this thread was created since 2021 but op have updated the thread or the information I'm the website has changed? This is what I saw in the website first page.
Nothing has been changed but you have clicked the wrong link. You have visited the home page of 99bitcoins while the obituaries can be found here-
https://99bitcoins.com/bitcoin-obituaries/; therefore, it wasn't a joke but you missed the actual link. Had you visited the lower part of the website, you would get the link to obituaries.