Man who planned his funeral 10 years before his death had a peculiar coffin in mind

Funerals are usually times for the loved ones of the deceased to remember and mourn them while holding on to the good memories they had together. But the rise of social media has amplified exceptional cases where family and friends complied with the individual's last wish to have an unconventional final journey. One such person was a British man who planned his funeral more than ten years before his death and rehearsed it on TV in 2013, as per The Gazette. The event went exactly as per the man's plan when he passed away peacefully in June this year.

Malcolm Brocklehurst was a renowned aircraft expert so he decided to have a coffin that was shaped like a vintage airplane. The coffin was ordered from "Crazy Coffins" an offshoot of a Nottingham-based traditional coffin maker that helps people customize their funerals. Describing the coffin named Tango One, the company wrote, "The Tango 1 orange airplane was commissioned by Malcolm Brocklehurst who often visits the factory to see his coffin and say hello. The coffin combines his twin passions of Blackpool football club and light aircraft aviation." It further read, "The design is based upon a cartoon of himself flying a comically truncated aircraft, overflowing from the cockpit, with his football scarf trailing behind him."

The grandfather of four thought about every detail of the ceremony including where he would like the procession to begin from. He wanted it to leave from a football pitch where his favorite team Blackpool FC plays, as per the outlet. The number of the airplane was MB 1934, which was a combination of Brocklehurst's initials and his birth year. "It felt like—and indeed was—a dress rehearsal for my command performance—with the great author in the sky," Brocklehurst said. "It felt weird being laid to rest in my airplane coffin, although I insisted that they not put the lid fully on—despite protestations from pals who said, ‘We’ve got him at last, nail it down fast,'" he added. The coffin was tangerine to match his favorite team's colors and the man planned that he'd be dressed in the same color.

The man wanted the congregation to listen to tributes to Malcolm before they "spin my propeller to fly me to the moon," as per BBC. The man didn't want people to cry over his death but to celebrate the time he was alive instead. "I don't want them mourning - I want them laughing," he said. A Blackpool Football Club flag was raised in Brocklehurst's front yard when the coffin was ready to serve its purpose as per Good News Network. The service was conducted by Humanist Lancashire celebrant Richard Spedding who described the service as an "absolute privilege to do." He shared, "I’ve done a few interesting funerals but I’ve never, ever done one with a coffin like that."

"A lot of hard work goes into the final product, but it was well worth it, and the family was extremely grateful for the job that I’ve done," Spedding expressed. While the man might not have seen such a larger-than-life coffin before, it wasn't his first time conducting a pre-planned funeral where he met the person while they were still alive. He surely has never had a memorial service that featured an original song written by the person while they were alive.