A 27-year-old man’s love for travel inspired his ‘unconventional’ coffin.
Joshua Cullen, from Boston, died of a brain tumour called a glioblastoma on October 8. He had been diagnosed on Christmas Eve 2021.
To honour Josh, who had a love for travel and dream to emigrate to Canada, the coffin for his funeral on October 31 was made from a cardboard box with travel-inspired stickers on it.
Maggie (left) with Josh (right)
“I think he would have loved it, he was very unconventional,” said his mum Maggie Cullen, 49.
Maggie, who lives in Boston, added: “Josh loved all things geography and aviation. He loved to travel. He went to places like Tenerife, Greece and Germany.
“He loved Vienna, which is near to where I grew up. We went there a couple of times.
Josh’s coffin.
“My plan is to take his ashes to Canada for his 30th birthday, but for now he is here with me.”
Josh’s friend Sammy helped with the idea for the design.
Maggie added: “Josh’s very good friend Sammy, she just had a browse through the internet for coffin ideas.
Joshua Cullen
“Josh was very unconventional and not one for gold handles.
“He was very aloof. I also wanted something unconventional for him and very different.”
Maggie approached the Co-op Funeral Care in Grantham, which organised Josh’s funeral, with the idea.
Maggie said: “We went to see Jo [at Co-op Funeral Care] to finalise the process of putting everything in place.
Joshua Cullen
“We asked her if there was anything she could do. Unfortunately, the timescale of getting it sorted would not work, so she said ‘let’s see if we can do it ourselves and make it personal to Josh’.
“So, she ordered a cardboard box coffin and I went to the Post Office, The Works and places like that looking for things we could use for Josh.
“I also wanted a map. I had a world map and a European map, but we decided to use the European one.
“We also included an arrow pointing to the UK to say ‘you are here’.”
At Josh’s funeral, guests were also told to wear bright clothes, compared to the conventional black.
Maggie added: “This was one of his wishes. He didn’t want it to be a sad occasion but a happy celebration.”
Maggie has praised the Co-op’s funeral care for their help in Josh’s funeral.
Jo Standley, funeral arranger at Co-op Funeralcare Grantham, said: “The team at Co-op Funeralcare Grantham were honoured to support Josh’s family in giving him such a personal send-off. At Co-op Funeralcare, we are seeing more families choose to celebrate a loved one’s life by honouring the things that were important to them.
“We take great pride in offering flexibility to fulfil any family’s wishes – no matter how big or small they might be.
“We love helping families find unique, heartfelt and creative ways to say goodbye to their loved ones in the manner they find most fitting.”