Dark Bilious Vapors

This Daily Herald article: You can take it with you by Robert McCoppin (Daily Herald Staff Writer) explores the stuff people want to....Well....to take to their grave...

"A fishing pole, a cell phone - even a snack. More families are burying prized possessions with loved ones. When Steve New's father died five years ago, he knew how he wanted to honor their time together. In his father's casket, next to the body, New put some of his father's favorite lures, a reel and photos of father and son fishing and hunting together. His friends, who'd also grown up fishing with his dad, brought their own photographs to drop in the casket.

Burying objects with the dead is nothing new. Ancient Egyptians interred food and everyday objects, even furniture, to use in the afterlife. An ancient Chinese emperor had an army of 6,000 terra cotta soldiers buried with him for protection in the hereafter.

The modern popularity of memorial mementos continues a trend toward personalizing funeral services, from wake to eulogy to burial. Preachers say it helps families and friends remember their loved ones' happiness and humor, not just their deaths.

Funeral directors have seen just about everything tucked into a casket at one time or another. Golfers go to rest with balls and clubs. Gamblers might take dice and a winning hand. One man, who was rarely without his phone, was buried with his cell. And some people are reunited with body parts they'd long since lost. Bibles and beyond..."

Karen on 02.27.05 @ 09:04 AM CST