Fun-loving husband taken to his funeral on a double-decker bus after wife wanted to give him ‘one last laugh’
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Jackie Palladino organised her husband a final farewell by transporting him to his funeral on a double-decker bus to give him ‘one last laugh.’ The 73-year-old organised the red London bus after her husband, Simon, died suddenly at the age of 69.
Jackie decided he would have to catch a bus to his own funeral and organised for his coffin to arrive at the crematorium on board a double-decker. With the help of Co-Op Funeralcare, Simon was transported to the service in a custom-made original London Transport hearse.
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Hide AdJackie, of Rugby in Warwickshire, said: “Simon always had a brilliant sense of humour.
“I knew that he would have wanted his funeral to be light-hearted and would have laughed at the thought of being taken to the service on a double-decker. It’s far from traditional and so I worried that it might not be possible.
“But our family and the team at Co-op Funeralcare helped to ensure everything came together, and the day was just wonderful.”
The double-decker bus, specifically modified for funeral use, was sourced by Jackie’s daughter-in-law, Rita, after Simon died in April from heart disease. Having been a keen fisherman, Simon had a picture coffin depicting lakeside imagery before being transported to the ceremony in May on the lower deck.
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Hide AdFuneral arranger Mike Wheeldon said he had never organised a send-off like it before. He said: “It was certainly a unique funeral to put together and a first for me - I’ve seen horses and moto