On this day 28 years ago 71-year-old George Swanson was buried in Irwin, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh.
George was a beer distributor and had served in the U. S. Army in World War II, but it was neither of those life experiences that made him noteworthy.
In fact it was what happened after his life was over that brought him a bit of fame.
George Swanson was buried in Brush Creek Cemetery in his beloved Corvette.
At first the cemetery refused to allow the unusual burial, fearing they would lose future clients, offended by Mr. Swanson’s burial. But after several weeks of negotiations, they allowed the Corvette to accompany the deceased in the graveyard if it was drained of all fluids so that the environment would be protected.
So, on May 25, 1994, George’s widow drove her own Corvette in the funeral procession to Brush Creek Cemetery, George’s ashes in the passenger seat next to her. Once there, George’s ashes were placed in the driver’s seat of his beloved 10-year-old Corvette (with only 27,000 miles), a cassette in the tape player was started and the car, with its deceased owner, was lowered into the grave, accompanied by the sound of Engelbert Humperdinck singing “Release Me” for the 50 mourners in attendance.
