Buried in His Harley: A Biker’s Wish Come True

Last Friday, Jan. 31 Billy Standley's idea to be buried riding in his 1967 Harley Davidson was a dream come true.  Standley began conception of his burial plans some 18 years ago.  He made arrangement with Vernon Funeral Home about his wish that his funeral be made outside. His sons made sure he got what he wished for by finishing the Plexiglas see-through casket reinforced with steel and wooden rods five years ago and was waiting in their garage to serve its purpose.  He even purchased 3 additional extra cemetery plots next to his wife Lorna to accommodate his custom built casket. Billy succumbed to lung cancer last Sunday, Jan. 26 at age 82.  A true blooded bike adventurer and an avid Harley fan, during his lifetime, Standley traveled with his Harley in almost all the state of America, except Hawaii. To his family, no matter how weird and quirky their father’s wish, they all need to do what their beloved father had wished for.  It took five embalmer’s creative ideas to secure him in his striding pose atop his beloved 1967 Electra Glide Harley cruiser wearing his well-worn leather jacket, white helmet and his eyeglasses. The elaborate funeral was witnessed by hundreds as the casket drove away from the funeral parlor to the
Mechanicsburg cemetery in Ohio.  A crane was needed to raise the custom built casket from a towing vehicle and lowered down to the cemetery ground for his eternal resting place.