Scroll through the dozens of articles you see published on Autoblog every day, and you'll quickly get an appreciation for how fundamental the love of vehicles is for many of us. Editors and commenters alike, we'd argue, show depth of feeling for the conveyances that both color and enrich our lives.
So, while it's certainly unorthodox to hear that Billy Standley had been making arrangements to be buried astride his beloved 1967 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide for nearly two decades, it's safe to say we understand the impulse.
Family members describe Standley as "quirky," and "gruff" but with a heart "as big as all outdoors." His children were happy to see his last wishes carried out, even if the logistics behind burying a man on a motorcycle, inside of a Plexiglas box, wasn't exactly simple.
The Dayton Daily News reports that Standley's sons built the box to both accommodate the bike and rider, and also to fit inside the nine-by-eleven-foot cement container needed for the burial. Meanwhile, a team of five embalmers prepared Standley's body, securing him to his Harley with straps and a metal back brace.
Tammy Vernon, of Vernon Funeral Homes in Standley's hometown of Mechanicsburg, OH, told The Dayton Daily News, "He was the one who kept throwing this idea out there, to be buried on his bike. We were glad to assist him."
Though not the first to be memorialized on the motorcycle of his dreams, Standley's wishes, and his family's perseverance to see them carried out, are a final flourish that we think much of the Harley-riding community will appreciate. Scroll down below for a video report.
So, while it's certainly unorthodox to hear that Billy Standley had been making arrangements to be buried astride his beloved 1967 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide for nearly two decades, it's safe to say we understand the impulse.
Family members describe Standley as "quirky," and "gruff" but with a heart "as big as all outdoors." His children were happy to see his last wishes carried out, even if the logistics behind burying a man on a motorcycle, inside of a Plexiglas box, wasn't exactly simple.
The Dayton Daily News reports that Standley's sons built the box to both accommodate the bike and rider, and also to fit inside the nine-by-eleven-foot cement container needed for the burial. Meanwhile, a team of five embalmers prepared Standley's body, securing him to his Harley with straps and a metal back brace.
Tammy Vernon, of Vernon Funeral Homes in Standley's hometown of Mechanicsburg, OH, told The Dayton Daily News, "He was the one who kept throwing this idea out there, to be buried on his bike. We were glad to assist him."
Though not the first to be memorialized on the motorcycle of his dreams, Standley's wishes, and his family's perseverance to see them carried out, are a final flourish that we think much of the Harley-riding community will appreciate. Scroll down below for a video report.
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