Ohio Man Gets Buried With His Harley

By Bud Wilkinson

A Mechanicsburg, OH man was buried today along with his 1967 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide, and WBNS-TV in Columbus was there as evidenced by the above video and accompanying picture (below). In also reporting on the funeral of 82-year-old Billie L. Standley, the “Dayton Daily News” reported that he had been planning for his death for 18 years:

He started by buying three extra burial plots at the Fairview Cemetery in Mutual, next to his wife, Lorna. The land was big enough for the 9-by-11-foot cement septic tank able to accommodate his bike. His sons, Pete and Roy, fashioned the casket out of Plexiglas, reinforcing the bottom with wood and steel rods to handle the extra weight. For five years, it sat in Standley’s garage and “if you stopped by his house, he showed you his casket,” Roy Standley said. “He was proud of it,” he added.

Enlisting the help of Dave and Tammy Vernon, co-owners of Vernon Funeral Homes Inc., he ensured his funeral would be held outside, so all his biker friends could watch his final ride. “We’ve done personalization … but nothing this extreme,” Tammy Vernon said. “He was the one who kept throwing this idea out there, to be buried on his bike. We were glad to assist him.”

His forethought proved advantageous after Standley was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s last year. Even as his mind wandered, his children or friends couldn’t forget his final wishes. When Standley succumbed to lung cancer Sunday at the age of 82, his plan rolled into action.

The full newspaper story can be read here. His obituary on the funeral home’s website noted that “Bill requested that any or all Harley (riders) and motorcyclist(s) be welcome to attend and ride at his service.”

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EBR (Erik Buell Racing) has added some more dealers in New England as it begins producing its new 2014 1190RX model, a street legal race bike selling for $18,995.

Among the new dealers are Dunbar Euro Sports in Brockton, MA; Cycle Design in Phillipston, MA; and Derry Cycle in Derry, NH. They join EBR of Westfield in Westfield, MA.