Dead Weird

In what can only be described as going beyond the spirit of friendly competition, undertaker David Wood stole the keys from a business rival's hearse, when the vehicle was - how you say - "occupied". The funeral of Patricia Thorburn was immediately disrupted as the car she had requested to be carried in, a 1968 Rolls Royce Phantom, was too heavy to push. Finally the car's owner, funeral director Joel Kerr, resorted to tearing out the walnut dashboard and hot-wiring the engine (BBC News).

Also in the UK, life-long bike fan Stuart McIntyre got his last wish in April, when friends built him a special "side-car hearse" so that he could take his final journey in the manner he had taken so many previous ones (Craven Herald).

Apparently, bike hearses are all the rage right now. Jay Howard of "Hometown Hearse" in Battle Creek has also recently added one to his line-up (WZZM13).

In fact, hearses seem to be so popular nowadays some people can't wait for the inevitable to take a ride in one. Certainly Sammy Townsley of Perthshire in Scotland was in a bit of a hurry, having stolen the hearse in the early morning hours, Townsley lost control of the car at high speed minutes later and crashed it into a telegraph pole (Perthshire Advertiser).

Finally, if you're up that way, the Montreal "Musée de Château Dufresne" is hosting an exhibition on the subject of death, funerals and their accoutrements; surely the perfect family day out. Called Celebrating the Dead: A Living Heritage, the exhibition is there till the end of August (Château Dufresne).
     Posted By: Dumbfounded - Thu May 14, 2009
     Category: Boredom | Death | Museums | Stupid Criminals





Comments
I remember seeing a hearse enthusiast site a couple years ago. It was hosted by goths,and largely frequented by such; the submitted photos, goths trying to be dark and mysterious in front of their hearses in their suburban driveway, were beautifully ridiculous. If I can find the site, I'll post a link here.
Posted by kingmonkey in Athens, Ontario on 05/14/09 at 09:15 AM
Ooh, please do. We haven't mocked goths nearly enough here! :cheese:
Posted by Dumbfounded on 05/14/09 at 09:18 AM
"Townsley lost control of the car [...] and crashed it into a telegraph pole"

Wait, they're still using telegraphs in Great Britain? :wow:
Posted by Dumbfounded on 05/14/09 at 10:10 AM
I say stop please stop making fun of us brits stop we like our telegraphs and feel no inclination to fix what isn't broken stop
Posted by kingmonkey in Athens, Ontario on 05/14/09 at 10:45 AM
Hearse sidecars - I'll bet lots of bikers are dying to get one of theese. :roll:

Are hearses really that popular. I thought the only people that drove them were goth kids and garage band drummers. Furthermore, I have never seen a hearse dealership.
Posted by Matt in Florida on 05/14/09 at 11:25 AM
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Posted by Matt in Florida on 05/14/09 at 11:43 AM
About 10 years ago my dad saw one of those old 1970s station wagons, the real big ones with the wood-grain paneling and the seat in the back that faced the rear of the car. He really wanted it so he went up to the owner and asked if it was for sale. The guy said no - he was a funeral director and he needed the station wagon because, aside from a hearse, it was the only car big enough to carry a coffin. And since the hearse is expensive to drive and maintain he used the station wagon for transporting coffins when it wasn't a 'ceremony'. I always thought that was really funny - transporting a coffin in a station wagon!

Wonder if the Goths would like to pose in front of an old 1970s station wagon? Nah - probably not the same effect, but it would fit better with the suburban driveways, eh?
Posted by vegas_girl in Vegas Baby!! on 05/14/09 at 11:49 AM
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Posted by Jmonkeh on 05/14/09 at 04:05 PM
Dumbfounded: Seriously, great article. All of your articles fit a common theme and flowed nicely almost in a story telling manner. Bravo!
Posted by chris_cantwell in Trevor, WI on 05/14/09 at 05:40 PM
He also keeps posting stuff that I set aside to post myself. I gotta start posting my stuff at 1 AM just to get ahead of him 😉
Posted by Nethie on 05/14/09 at 09:24 PM
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:lol:
Posted by Jmonkeh on 05/15/09 at 08:09 AM
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