Casket company makes 'cowboy's last ride' a little smoother gait

Jeannie Burton of Early, Texas displays one of the coffins available at Cowboy's Last Ride. -Staff photo by Briskin

November 29, 2001 -- For many people the idea of designing their own casket is nothing short of morbid. But after spending a few hours with Jeannie Burton of Cowboy's Last Ride, preplanning makes perfect sense.

Burton and her twin sister Jeanette Hall started the company after losing four family members in a period of 14 months. "We all come from a ranching background and spent our whole lives concentrating on making a living," said Burton. "We never thought about dying. We had never been directly involved in planning a funeral, let alone paying for it."

According to Burton each of her relatives that had passed away had wanted a pine box, but finding one proved to be difficult at best. "None of them believed in spending a fortune on a funeral," she stated. "We wanted something that was appropriate for how our loved ones had lived their lives and yet be affordable."

When planning her mother's funeral Burton asked a funeral director about a plain pine box. According to Burton the director told her that he did not carry them and did not know how to order them or where to find her one. All he had to offer her was a solid oak casket for $5,500.

Texas-style wreaths are available for families that prefer something besides flowers to memorialize their loved one. -Staff photo by Briskin

She and her sister were forced, in a time of great sorrow and stress, to settle on a metal casket that Burton says still bothers her to this day. All in all the family spent around $28,000 on all four services and Burton was told by one funeral director that those were "cheap funerals" by today's standards.

Burton and her sister were shocked by the costs associated with a casket and funeral. "We felt that there was something terribly wrong with this picture," said Burton, "so we started looking for someone that could build us a plain pine casket when the time came."

According to Burton, during their search they came across countless families that were looking for the same thing; a coffin that is affordable, simple and that fits their personal needs.

Finally, after a year of searching, Burton and Hall found Doug Keys. Keys a cabinet and furniture craftsman, had made some caskets by special request and as the word spread he began making them regularly.

The sisters approached Keys with their plan to provide families with affordable, custom made, western-style caskets. He agreed and there began the Cowboy's Last Ride.

Keys has an Architectural Design degree and has over 19 years experience in woodworking. "He is a full-time rancher and does this on the side," said Burton.

According to Burton they try to keep at least ten caskets in their showroom in Early, Texas for those who did not have the opportunity to preselect. "For people who do want to plan in advance, we will custom build a casket for them," she stated. "They pick out the wood, the lining; they pick everything out. We try to work around each persons budget."

Customers have had their caskets lined with their favorite saddle blanket or quilt, their brands burned in the side and a likeness of their favorite roping horse carved in the lid. Burton says the sky is the limit and they will try to fulfill anyone's desires.

According to Burton the artist that does all the carving work for the Cowboy's Last Ride caskets can carve anything. "Our artist, Kevin Strickler, does lettering, poems, the ten commandments or anything else someone has in mind," she said.

"We had a baby, unfortunately, out of North Carolina that was only 14 months old. He was losing his eight month battle with cancer and his parents sent us his baby blanket to line his casket," said Burton. "It was very important to the family to provide the type of casket they felt was appropriate for their little boy."

The caskets can be built out of any type of wood and do not necessarily have to have a western theme. "One man is sending us the floor boards from his old home that is being torn down," explained Burton. "That is what he wants his casket to be made out of. One lady had a beautiful antique carving on her casket. It wasn't western, but it was what she wanted."

According to Burton she does this strictly to provide a service to people. She does not take a salary and any money left over after paying the artist and casket builder goes back into the business for advertising.

Another service offered by Cowboy's Last Ride is funeral education. "We help educate the public on their rights and we provide the public with a consumer guide created by the Federal Trade Commission that covers the laws surrounding funerals," explained Burton.

Cowboy's Last Ride will hand carry a casket anywhere in the state of Texas and ships caskets throughout the U.S. For more information visit their web site at www.cowboyslastride.com. For information from the Federal Trade Commission on funeral laws and consumer rights visit www.ftc.gov.