Barcalounger Funeral - James Henry Smith

[panda]

I'm told this person is Kayla Denise Parker-Tolbert, a famous gosple singer who died of breast cancer this year. My first reaction was......I'm not sure if I agree with this ......but the more I looked, the more I thought it was a nice way to display someone. I think she looks beautiful, so peaceful & relaxed...like she could get up, stretch & yawn & say that was a great nap! I think it's a far better setting than the stuffy traditional displays. Want to hear the opinions of my fellow death hags.

[SIZE=4]WARNING DEAD PICTURES BELOW[/SIZE]

[chirock]

I have one equally as strange. My husband's buddy sent us these photos:

[chirock]

Wahoo! finally made it as an official "death hag!" No more junior in front!!

[Demondahlia]

Ok for give my igorance .. but are these untraditional "viewings" set up in a funeral home .. or are they being laid out in the comfort of their own home .. ??

[panda]

Ok for give my igorance .. but are these untraditional "viewings" set up in a funeral home .. or are they being laid out in the comfort of their own home .. ??

I'm not sure, but it looks like funeral homes to me.

Hey Chirock, I think your photo's have mine beat! Love your quote, my absolute favorite Billy Joel song!!!!!

[different kind of girl]

Interesting! I've never seen anything like that before, that second guy looks like he's just napping in front of the tv. I like it. Thanks for sharing!

[chirock]

Thnx, Panda! As Jason noted, I sort of "changed" his lyrics to fit this site a bit! It's actually "... cry with the saints..." Gotta take some liberties!

I have NO idea where my hub's buddy got these photos, but boy-oh-boy, that one was devoted Steelers fan!!!

I think he was laid out in a home.

[Kathyf]

Thats cool it might be a nice idea.

[SuburbanDeathHag]

Those people look so fine, relaxed and peaceful. I think their feet should be covered with something, they bother me. Maybe a pillow or a throw....

[Maruz83]

That is soooo kewl !!! Okay display me in front of my computer with FAD on the site !!!!!

[Tugboat25]

Those pictures aren't as strange to see as I would have thought. It sure is different but not too freaky.
It's always amazing to me about a dead body... you can really see the absence of a soul (or life force) in it.
The body really does take on a look of just a vessel for a person to get around in on earth. It's hard to describe. The body looks more like some kind of vehicle as opposed to the full representation of a person.

[Cataroo]

Wow ... that woman looks absolutely serene!

[MorbidMolly]

I love both sets of pics....so much more natural......I`ve never seen anything like them.....very, very, well done....thanks for the post

[JeffD]

Great pics! Thanks! The most clever I've seen since the drive-thru viewing funeral homes.

[lulu]

It's kind of like that episode of, I think, My Name is Earl, where they did the unconventional funerals. They had one guy sitting in his recliner with football stuff all around him.

[Lisamarie]

wow now Im thinking of creative ways to dispaly my body when I die and I got it ..stand me up in a replica of Marilyns white halter dress and have my dress blowing up with me posed just like her in the 7 year ich!!! hahah!! Those are really cool! I have never seen that before...it makes them seem more real I suppose.The lady looks beautiful.

[BeeCee]

[SIZE=3]I'm torn...part of me thinks it almost seems a little like denial and the other part is saying well, why not be creative to the end![/SIZE]

[Layla331]

ive never seen anything like that..great pics ..

[ComputerGuy]

The black gentleman I remember that he was a big Pittsburg Steelers Fan. They had a tape of the Steelers playing while he was in repose. If yopu look closely his cigarettes and beer is there too.

[Carrie]

This was how people were displayed back in the day...only at home. My Grandmother died in 1932, in a small town, and my dad remembered her being layed out on the sofa in their house. He was only 6 at the time.

[Cataroo]

The black gentleman I remember that he was a big Pittsburg Steelers Fan. They had a tape of the Steelers playing while he was in repose. If yopu look closely his cigarettes and beer is there too.

I loved that the television remote was in his hand. He was in control even at the end!!

[ComputerGuy]

I loved that the television remote was in his hand. He was in control even at the end!!

A real Man. Even had a pack of Newports nerby too!!

[geekygirl]

Those pictures aren't as strange to see as I would have thought. It sure is different but not too freaky.
It's always amazing to me about a dead body... you can really see the absence of a soul (or life force) in it.
The body really does take on a look of just a vessel for a person to get around in on earth. It's hard to describe. The body looks more like some kind of vehicle as opposed to the full representation of a person.

Very well stated, Tugboat. I have been there when people have died or shortly thereafter. Right after they die, they look so much like themselves. But as the minutes tick away, you can see their personna disappear. I've always wondered exactly what it is that is causing this transformation, and I think you are right on, their soul or life force leaving their body.

[Valentino009]

The lady looks very peaceful and serene! She looks real good. I agree though the feet should be covered.

[onehunglow]

Forgot the headphones

[Guest]

Wow those pics are amazing. The woman was beautiful and quite young.

[geekygirl]

A real Man. Even had a pack of Newports nerby too!!

Wouldn't it be ironic if he died of lung cancer?

[Reecy]

I too have never seen photos like this. The lady does look serene and quite beautiful. I do agree with the other 2 posters about covering the leg/feet part.

[Guest]

I've decided...display me like she was displayed! I just love how personal the man's display was...all the things he loved...as well it should be...I'm going to be cremated anyway...so why spend on a nicer good looking casket to display me? put me on a chaise like her...then stick me in a cardboard box for the cremation...I totally dig that...my family will have a fit and that I totally dig too!

[Bigfoot]

This is a great way to remember a loved one! You don't have to remember a casket or anything similar. The idea is great! They look like they're resting. Thanks for such wonderful pics!

[SomeChick]

wow now Im thinking of creative ways to dispaly my body when I die and I got it ..stand me up in a replica of Marilyns white halter dress and have my dress blowing up with me posed just like her in the 7 year ich!!! hahah!! Those are really cool! I have never seen that before...it makes them seem more real I suppose.The lady looks beautiful.

What if you die when you're 106 though? Still want it or would you pick something else then?

[Stonecold]

Awesome pics! Now thats the way to be displayed.

[djdeath-hag]

Thanks for sharing these pix! Gives me something NEW to ponder about "my arrangements"

[cindyk]

that lady looks so peaceful! i definitely like these way better than a coffin presentation. i would feel much more comfortable viewing these people rather than seeing a coffin which is a symbol of death. seeing someone in their favorite chair or a nice couch just seems like they are resting, as someone else mentioned too. i'm adding this to the list of options. also i agree that their feet need to be covered. i don't even like feet of alive people let alone dead people.. ick. (and to think, i have to transcribe for a foot doctor! ugh. the irony..)

[geekygirl]

that lady looks so peaceful! i definitely like these way better than a coffin presentation. i would feel much more comfortable viewing these people rather than seeing a coffin which is a symbol of death. seeing someone in their favorite chair or a nice couch just seems like they are resting, as someone else mentioned too. i'm adding this to the list of options. also i agree that their feet need to be covered. i don't even like feet of alive people let alone dead people.. ick. (and to think, i have to transcribe for a foot doctor! ugh. the irony..)

Oh God, I just had an interesting thought -- what if I have my family prop me up in a chair in front of a computer with a mouse in my hand, my eyes open staring at the Find-a-Death website on the internet?

[Brina]

wow, after the shock of seeing it different then we are all made to beleive death to be and the whole coffin thing, i think this is kinda nice and more friendly...

[disco]

Wahoo! finally made it as an official "death hag!" No more junior in front!!

yea! I felt the same way. Im a little big shot now! lol

[Guest]

I have one equally as strange. My husband's buddy sent us these photos:

Found a little background on this man.


PITTSBURGH -- James Henry Smith loved his country. He served in Vietnam and spent 25 years in the Army, Army Reserve and National Guard.But the 55-year-old Garfield man also had love for his favorite football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers -- and that led to an unusual viewing after he died from prostate cancer this week.Smith's family asked the Coston Funeral Home in Lincoln-Lemington to place his body not in a casket, but in a recliner that faced a television playing Steelers highlights, with a remote control in his hand. The body was dressed in black and gold clothing -- traditional Steelers colors -- and a blanket bearing the team's logo was draped over an armrest. Sitting on a table next to the chair were a pack of cigarettes and a can of beer.

[SuckMyKiss]

Thanks for the info. I always wonder when I see pics like that, that are not of famous people, who they were and the story behind them, I'm just reaaallllyyyy nosy and you have satisfied my curiosities. Lol Thanking you.

[Dotty]

Love the photo's, what a brilliant idea. I'd seen the ones of the man before and thought then what a great idea it was.

[geekygirl]

Found a little background on this man.


PITTSBURGH -- James Henry Smith loved his country. He served in Vietnam and spent 25 years in the Army, Army Reserve and National Guard.But the 55-year-old Garfield man also had love for his favorite football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers -- and that led to an unusual viewing after he died from prostate cancer this week.Smith's family asked the Coston Funeral Home in Lincoln-Lemington to place his body not in a casket, but in a recliner that faced a television playing Steelers highlights, with a remote control in his hand. The body was dressed in black and gold clothing -- traditional Steelers colors -- and a blanket bearing the team's logo was draped over an armrest. Sitting on a table next to the chair were a pack of cigarettes and a can of beer.

Great detective work, Dearheart!

[joplinfrk]

This is a WONDERFUL idea! Yes, the body is just a shell.

[RoRo]

seems nicer, but I need to see them in a casket ...i guess i am old fashioned

[djdeath-hag]

Thank you for filling in the blanks & connecting the dots for us, DearHeart!

[mgpm]

I don't know how I feel about this. With the lady, I agree, she looks serene, and there isn't anything intrinsically wrong with it...but for me the problem is that these people are dead. When you are dead you aren't lying on a sofa or watching tv. Especially in the case of the second guy, it's either like a joke or a denial that he isn't going to be watching the Steelers anymore.

I like the lady OK, but not the guy. Perhaps I'm just old fashioned and like the thought of the dead body being held in a casket. Perhaps it is just what I'm used to.

[stinkythejokedog]

Found a little background on this man.


PITTSBURGH -- James Henry Smith loved his country. He served in Vietnam and spent 25 years in the Army, Army Reserve and National Guard.But the 55-year-old Garfield man also had love for his favorite football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers -- and that led to an unusual viewing after he died from prostate cancer this week.Smith's family asked the Coston Funeral Home in Lincoln-Lemington to place his body not in a casket, but in a recliner that faced a television playing Steelers highlights, with a remote control in his hand. The body was dressed in black and gold clothing -- traditional Steelers colors -- and a blanket bearing the team's logo was draped over an armrest. Sitting on a table next to the chair were a pack of cigarettes and a can of beer.

Shit...this dude was stylin on his way out...I'll be representing Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns on my way out...maybe some porn involving chicks with big assess and a bottle of Stoli will be on the table next to my body

[hell0kitty]

do i see the man in the pics above holding the tv remote?

[chirock]

Thanks for the detective work! I always wondered who this gentleman was.

[mike]

She has a smile on her face very peaceful.

[xoxojessicaxoxo]

i think this personal touch may be a growing trend in funeral parlors. when my grandfather died in '02 we had the option of making it personal, he was a professional contractor. we brought in his ladder, his old work shirt with his name sewn in, as well as a collage of pictures that i made. it was very nice and extremely personal, we even propped his guitar by the casket.