SALINA, Kan. (AP) - Barbara Joan Apps doesn’t plan to die anytime soon, but she’s not taking any chances.
Although still in good health at age 83, the Topeka resident decided to purchase a casket in advance so she could have it decorated just the way she wanted it, the Salina Journal (https://bit.ly/1dbRFoe ) reported.
Apps’ maiden name is Sodergren and her roots are in Sweden, so when it finally comes time to shake off her mortal coil, she plans to meet her maker in a casket painted in a Swedish folk art style called Kurbits.
Kurbits painting is taken from the Book of Jonah in the Bible and derived from the name of a large plant with gourds, leaves and flowers that represents God’s blessing and protection. Kurbits is a Swedish floral figurative painting style mostly used for furniture, cupboard or shrine painting or for decorating wooden Dala horses.
“I like Swedish art and all the things they put on Dala horses, so I thought it would look nice on a casket,” she said.
Apps said that might seem morbid to some, “But when my husband died, we were pretty rushed to decide what we wanted to have that would be symbolic of his life. That’s hard to plan in just a few days. So I wanted to start planning a little earlier.”
The idea for creating a personalized casket actually came from Apps’ granddaughter, Kiersten Rothrock, who happens to be a funeral director and embalmer at Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home in Topeka. Rothrock said thinking about people’s funerals, even family members’, is a hazard of her profession.
“I meet someone, and I start thinking about their funeral,” Rothrock said, “although you really can’t approach them about their funerals because they’ll think you’re weird.”
Rothrock said her grandmother is a woman of simple tastes whose parents came from Sweden, who loves her Swedish heritage and whose home is decorated in Swedish artwork. So why not have her casket decorated in a traditional Swedish Kurbits design?
“I wanted something that would make my grandmother’s funeral unique - not that she’s going anytime soon,” Rothrock said.
After Apps approved her suggestion, Rothrock special-ordered an unfinished pine casket suitable for painting. She then searched for an artist with knowledge of the Kurbits style and found Lindsborg resident Carla Wilson.
Rothrock had previously worked with Wilson’s son Jamie and niece Jessica at the Outback Steakhouse in Topeka and knew that Wilson also was an accomplished Swedish folk painter familiar with the Kurbits style.
“I used to be a tour guide in Sweden and saw a lot of Kurbits painting firsthand on furniture and walls,” said Wilson, who works in marketing at Scott’s Hometown Foods in Lindsborg.
Wilson said she was surprised at being contacted about painting a casket but was intrigued by the challenge.
“I’ve never been asked to paint a casket before, so I was really excited,” she said. “I paint a lot of furniture, but this is my first casket.”
Apps said she looked at other Kurbits designs from Wilson’s previous work and selected different elements to use for her casket.
“I’m not an artist and don’t know about art, but I picked what I liked the best,” Apps said.
With the pine casket stored in her home garage, Wilson designed and painted a pattern on the top and along the sides of the casket. Painted on the top is Apps’ name and birthdate: 21-7-1931.
“In Sweden, you put the day, then the month, then the year,” Wilson said. “Whenever Barbara dies, they’ll call me, and I’ll paint on the death date.”
On the inside lid, Wilson painted the word “Gudsfred,” with a little Dala horse between “Guds” and “fred.” ’’Gudsfred” translates into English as “God’s peace.”
“Where else would you want to have God’s blessing and protection if not on your casket?” she said.
Since the casket came with no finish on it, Wilson covered it with a sealer. She then painted her design with oil paints, then put another coat of sealer over that. Wilson estimated the entire process would take about two weeks to complete.
Wilson said having a pine casket in her garage has sparked some comments from friends and neighbors.
“It’s drawn a lot of interest,” she said. “People were concerned for my husband.”
After Wilson is finished, Rothrock and her husband will retrieve the casket and store it in the basement of their Lawrence home.
“For me, it’s not unusual to have a casket in my basement,” she said.
Rothrock hopes her grandmother doesn’t need the casket for a long, long time.
“I tell you, that woman is going to live forever,” she said with a laugh.
Apps said that for a time she contemplated putting the casket in her home as a piece of decorative furniture. That is, until she began to think about people’s reaction to seeing a large casket in her living room.
“I imagine it would be pretty conspicuous,” she said.
___
Information from: The Salina (Kan.) Journal, https://www.salina.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.