People Are Being Buried With Their Gadgets

Recently, we told you about people arranging to get nipped and tucked after they die, so they can look good at their funeral. Well, get ready for another post-mortem trend. According to MSNBC, more and more folks are asking to be buried - with their cell phone. Noelle Potvin is a family service counselor for Hollywood Forever, a funeral home and cemetery in Hollywood. She says it seems that everyone under 40 who dies takes their cell phone with them. BlackBerrys, too. She said they even had one guy who was buried with his Game Boy!

So, why are people going to the grave with their gadgets? Experts say there are a number of reasons. Some do it for the same reason people have always tucked mementos into a casket. They want to surround themselves with the things they hold dear, whether that’s their cell phone, some family photos, or a fishing rod. Potvin says a lot of people believe that a phone represents the person. It’s part of their legacy - an extension of them, like a class ring. Others do it as a way to provide comfort for the entire family. Pam Vetter, a Los Angeles funeral planner, says she’s seen family members place iPod earphones on the deceased person and play songs as the casket closed. It’s comforting to the family to think mom’s playing her iPod, or dad’s still got the cell phone that was attached to his ear all the time.

Also, ringtones are becoming part of the funeral tribute! According to Ed Defort, publisher of American Funeral Director magazine, some people will call the deceased just as they’re lowering the coffin into the ground. He says it’s like the new version of “Taps” for people who are identified as being on the phone all the time. Of course, the notion of staying connected also comes into play. Some family members leave the cell phones on, saying they’re going to call their loved one later. Not that anyone will answer, but they want to have that connection. Take Manhattan criminal defense attorney John Jacobs. When he died in 2005, his wife not only buried him with his phone, but she still continues to pay the monthly bill - and even calls him on occasion. The battery’s dead, so the calls go to his voicemail – but it’s a connection. She also had his cell phone number carved onto his headstone so others can call him, too. So much for resting in peace.