According to his daughter, Mr. Standley was “a quirky man” who credited his motorcycle with helping him to regain his sense of adventure. So when he died of cancer at the age of 82, instead of the traditional suit and tie, his body was dressed in leather motorcycle attire. Then, in accordance with his instructions, he was placed astride his 1967 Electra Glide motorcycle, placed in a giant, see-through Plexiglas “casket” and lowered into a three-plot grave next to his late wife.
On the same day, mourners who came to pay their final respects to a prize fighter in San Juan, Puerto Rico, found the recently-deceased standing upright in a boxing ring.
Christopher Rivera Amaro had been shot to death at the age of 23, cutting short a brief life and a mediocre boxing career. But, in keeping with his family’s wishes, Mr. Amaro’s body was dressed in boxing trunks, with a yellow hood on his head, sunglasses over this eyes and blue boxing gloves on his hands. He was propped against the ropes of a simulated boxing ring, so the bereaved who came to the wake could stand next to him for one last photo.
Perhaps all of this is the beginning of a trend.
Instead of saying goodbye to loved ones who are lying comfortably in their silk-lined coffins, future funerals may mirror their lifestyles reflected in their deathstyles. Deceased television reporters, suitably dressed and hair-sprayed, propped up behind anchor desks. Late chefs in aprons and toques, leaning against their stoves, spatulas in hand. Golfers in plaid pants passing on to their rewards gripping Pings as they stand over eternal three-footers.
Personally, having my corpse on display like a statue at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum is not a prospect that appeals to me. You might even say I have grave reservations about the concept.
Besides, I don’t know what a suitable tableau might be in my case. Probably something to do with a recliner, a bag of Doritos and a television showing the Cleveland Browns losing again.
So when it’s my turn to go, I think I’ll stick to cremation. Because as anyone who knows me will tell you, I’ve always had a tendency to make an ash of myself.
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