AURORA, Ind. (AP) – It took 14 plots in the cemetery, but Aurora Schuck was granted the wish she made 10 years ago – to be buried with her 1976 red Cadillac.
“It’s unusual,” said a spokesman for Rullman Funeral Home who declined to give his name. “I don’t think she directed attention to herself normally.” Mrs. Schuck, a native of Cuba, died Tuesday of cancer at age She and her husband, Raymond, owned Schuck Plumbing & Heating.
Her husband said she had mentioned 10 years ago she would like to be entombed with the automobile.
The Schucks, described by friends as generous and civic-minded, were known for their elaborate Christmas displays at their store. But they were not a flamboyant couple, the funeral home spokesman said.
“They are super nice people, and they have no children,
“he said. “Somewhere along the way, this was a wish that Mr. Schuck was concerned about fulfilling for her. He asked us, and I said,
You need to check with the cemetery.”
Terry Adams, superintendent of Riverview Cemetery, said the cemetery board approved the unusual burial.
A local construction company was hired to dig a grave large enough for the car. The Cadillac was lifted with a crane and placed into the vault, which measured 27 feet by 12 feet by 6 feet deep, Adams said.
A brief ceremony was conducted at the funeral home Friday afternoon with a family friend delivering the eulogy.
There was a brief graveside service.
“The casket was placed on the back of the car. The top is down, so it will just be placed on that, across the back,” the funeral home spokesman said.