[chris]

For nearly two decades, Bill Standley had worked with his funeral director to arrange how he would be laid to rest. The Mechanicsburg, Ohio, man died from lung cancer at age 82 on January 26, 2014, and was interred five days afterward at Fairview Cemetery in Mutual, Ohio. Wearing his helmet and leathers, he was placed in a riding posture on his custom-painted 1967 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide.

Standley and his sons had constructed the large, clear Plexiglas coffin years in advance and stored it in his garage. Embalmers secured him with straps and a metal support behind his back. Accommodating the casket required three additional grave spaces. Several hundred mourners were present, including many bikers. The burial received news coverage.

[Kelseecat65]

That is awesome!

[FavaBeans]

oh shit!..now he wont be one of the Walking dead...He will be The Riding Dead!

[Caduceus]

Never ride with your eyes closed. You might end up.......oh nevermind.

[Faline]

Good for him

[Riddla]

Someone will dig and steal that bike even though it looks ugly as sin

[kellyhound]

how cool is that lol

MECHANICSBURG, Ohio - An Ohio man's family is fulfilling his dying wish -- to be buried astride his beloved Harley-Davidson motorcycle encased in a see-through casket.

But it hasn't been easy. The project required an extra-large cemetery plot to accommodate a Plexiglas casket for Billy Standley and his hulking custom-painted 1967 Electra Glide cruiser. Five embalmers worked to prepare his body with a metal back brace and straps to ensure he'll never lose his seat.

Standley's family said he'd been talking about it for years and liked to take people to the garage to show off the unusual casket his two sons had built for him. He told people he didn't just want to ride off to heaven, he wanted the world to see him do it in the big see-through box.

"He was a quirky man," daughter Dorothy Brown said. "But when it comes to us kids, he loved us, he raised us well and, of course, we wanted to help him."

The Dayton Daily News reported that Standley, of Mechanicsburg, west of Columbus, died of lung cancer Sunday at age 82. He was to be buried Friday.

A newspaper photo of the prepared casket shows Standley with his eyes closed astride the big bike. He's dressed in black leathers, a white helmet and glasses, his gloved hands grasping the handlebars.

Standley told his family his motorcycle helped him retain his sense of adventure after he settled down to raise four children, which was quite a compromise for the man who made his start at 13 as ranch hand and rodeo rider.

He started the project himself, buying three extra burial plots next to his wife, Lorna. His sons, Pete and Roy, fashioned the casket out of Plexiglas, reinforcing the bottom with wood and steel rods to handle the extra weight.

Enlisting the help of Vernon Funeral Homes, Standley ensured his funeral would be held outside, so all his biker friends could watch his final ride.

His family agreed the processional to the cemetery might be a little bizarre, even shocking.

"He'd done right by us all these years, and at least we could see he goes out the way he wanted to," Pete Standley said.

[jbell0129]

here come the graverobbers

[Yksisarvi]

I wonder how much that cost.

[Karma]

Good for him, and good for his family for carrying out his wishes. Bizarre? Who cares. It was HIS funeral. I think it's brilliant. Wish I'd seen it. I might want to attend funerals or see processions if they're like that.