Anto Wickham says he wants his funeral to be a celebration, not a tragic event

Aug 6, 2014 18:55 GMT  ·  By
Man wants his funeral to be a celebration, pays $50,000 for a coffin shaped like a bottle of whiskey
   Man wants his funeral to be a celebration, pays $50,000 for a coffin shaped like a bottle of whiskey

Whether we want to or not, we'll all get to meet the Grim Reaper one day. Since there is no way to cancel this appointment, the one thing left to do is see to it that we get to shake hands with him on our own terms.

48-year-old Anto Wickham, who now lives in the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland, appears to be well aware of this tragic truth. Hence his decision to start making plans for his funeral while still very much alive.

Truth be told, stories of people who plan their funerals long in advance are not all that uncommon. However, there is one very good reason why Anto Wickham's story is now making headlines.

Thus, this man is now the proud owner of a $50,000 (€37,316) coffin that is shaped like a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey and that the 48-year-old father of six hopes will serve as his home for all eternity, Oddity Central informs.

The casket, a photo of which is available next to this article, was designed and created by a UK-based firm named Crazy Coffins. As its name suggests, this company specializes in making one-of-a-kind caskets.

Talking to the press, John Gill, the owner of Crazy Coffins, explained that Anto Wickham's custom-made coffin took several months to piece together. This was because its design was fairly complex, he went on to explain.

“This design was very complicated because there are so many curves in a Jack Daniels bottle and it is almost cut like a diamond. We built it bit by bit because the man was fighting fit and healthy so we knew there was no rush,” the owner of Crazy Coffins said.

By the looks of it, 48-year-old Anto Wickham is very pleased with how his casket turned out. Still, one can only assume that, as much as he likes its intricate design, he isn't exactly dying to get into it. The only bad news is that his friends and family are not exactly fond of it.

“It is absolutely fantastic. When I opened it I could not believe the detail and the artwork. They have done a fantastic job. It is just amazing,” the man told the press in an interview. “My friends see the funny side of it, but my mum and my grandparents are not too impressed,” he added.

Anto Wickham maintains that he settled on this peculiar design for his coffin because he wants his death to be a celebration, not a tragic event. The man, who used to be a soldier, says that he's sick and tired of sad funerals and wants his to be completely different.

“While working in Iraq I had a very close call. Over a 28-day period in February 2007, I was attacked 74 times and there were some days we would get three or four hits in one day. I was attacked by heavy machine gun fire, IEDs and roadside bombs.”

“I lost eight colleagues. At the time I thought I would have to plan my funeral because something could go wrong. Too many funerals of colleagues where they were very sad occasions,” the 48-year-old father of six explained his decision to opt for a casket shaped like a bottle of whiskey.