Southernisms: Caskets, Coffins and Coffee Cans

By Dwalia South, MD Gazette Contributing Editor

I have arrived at three score and ten years, that milestone of age that the Bible says is the full span of life. According to Moses in Psalms 90:10, we live for 70 years or so and with a bit of luck we might possibly make it to 80. But, have mercy, I didn’t know it would happen so devastatingly fast! I don’t mind so much the numerical age I have reached, because I don’t believe that I am in as bad a shape as many of the patients I see who are much younger than I. What I do mind is the aching loss of so many folks in the inner circle of my life... spouses, relatives, friends, and patients, young and old... way too many in recent years to begin to name them all.

In thinking of the ‘passing’ of so many people who were dear to me, I began to ponder the different ways that people want to exit this earthly existence. I never gave it any thought that there was a difference between caskets and coffins before a little research outlined it plainly.

Coffins are a more historically used final resting enclosure than caskets. They are traditionally made of a hardwood or even the proverbial “pine box” and in the hexagonal (six-sided) shape that is distinctively wider at the shoulder area, and narrower at the bottom, ostensibly to use less wood. These were most common in the 19th century. The “casket” is a more modern or euphemistic term to describe to the griefstricken family members the box which would hold the remains of their departed loved-ones. Caskets are four-sided and rectangular in shape, and may be made of wood or metal, and are considerably higher in price than a coffin. Most of the metal caskets have a locking and sealing mechanism to prevent moisture from entering...this is used generally in addition to a “vault” which further protects the burial enclosure from decay and damage from the weight of the earth above the grave. Most modern vaults are made of concrete. And in most funerals today this combination of casket and vault is still the most common tradition in use.

She Had Made Her Preparations for Resurrection Morning

I began thinking about this seemingly morbid subject when one of my patients told me the most wonderful story about his experiences with his Mother’s funeral wishes. My patient did not want his name to be mentioned, so in respect for that, I will only say that his Mother was a resident of western Union County.

It seems that her original plans for her funeral were thwarted one day when she attended the ‘visitation’ for of one of her dear friends who had died.

She remarked to her son as they left that she thought that the choice of a vivid pink and taupe casket with a pink and white cushion lining with her friend’s snow white hair just “clashed and looked tacky!” She said, “I have got some changing of plans to do and get them in writing to the funeral home, pronto!”

With the passage of time, my patient’s elderly Mother died and he went to the United Funeral Home in New Albany to finalize her arrangements with Larry Reedy, the Funeral Director in charge. Mr. Reedy asked him if he had brought his Mother’s requested shoes, purse, and the pearl necklace and earrings that her husband had given to her when he came home from his overseas service in World War II.

My patient said that he exclaimed to Mr. Reedy, “You’ve got to be kidding me... a purse, shoes, and some very valuable jewelry to be buried with? Why on earth?”

Larry showed him the certified letter he had gotten from the Mother outlining her final wishes, specifically that she wanted to be buried in her best baby blue dress, wearing her blue and white high heels, with her matching blue and white purse, and those pearls because she “wanted to look her absolute best when she rose to meet Jesus on Resurrection morning and didn’t want to be wasting any time scratching around looking for her purse and shoes when that happened!”

I dearly loved this recollection which illustrates so well that that there are many different schools of thought and beliefs about how we should best be interred.

Reverend Howard Finster’s Philosophy on Cremation Increasingly today I have noted that the practice of cremation of the deceased is being utilized much more often. The Bible does not forbid cremation of course, but it has culturally not been the norm here in the South. Of course, cremation is significantly less expensive that a traditional funeral and this has become a deciding factor for many families.

Several of the dearest people in my own life have opted for cremation, and requesting this long prior to their demise. Years ago, Brother Tommy Covington shared with me the philosophy of

Reverend Howard Finster when he told me of his request for cremation at his death. Tom told me that he wanted to be cremated and have his ashes “buried in a red Folgers coffee can at Wier’s Chapel cemetery. As evidence for his decision, he sent me

Reverend Howard Finster’s take on ‘funeralizing.’

The Casket

I had a funeral home come here and ask me what they could do for me. I couldn’t think of nothing except that they could GIVE ME my casket.

When they brought it, I set it on this table. It’s a nice one, with a steel vault. Anyone who writes me a two-inch square letter on one side of the letter and signs their name on the backside of it, that little square will go in my casket. I figure I can put a million in there.

I had a vision to be cremated and my ashes put in my casket.

People who are cremated see all the animals that were offered to God for man’s sins over thousands of years. You know they had to cremate these animals before they were acceptable, because cremation does away with corruption.

Cremation is the only way to escape corruption. Corruption is when you rot and stink. So I want to be cremated, and then Christ won’t see no corruption. I would be cleaner. I could be cremated in three hours. It would be a sacrifice to God. Then He could accept me. Embalming anybody is prolonging corruption. When you embalm anybody, you are saying, “I don’t want to go to dust.”

You are supposed to go to dust. Your body ain’t supposed to be seen anymore because God gives you a new body.

And when you get that new body, you won’t need that old one. Rev. Howard Finster (1916-2001) (Paradise Garden is the environmental experiment of the Georgia Country Baptist preacher turned famed Rev. Howard Finster - Folk Artist Tommy Covington Marker at Westminister. Tommy Covington Marker at Wier’s Chapel.