Highway to Heaven

On the highway to heaven: Ohio biker is buried in leathers astride his beloved 1967 Harley-Davidson in a huge transparent casket

• Billy Standley and his sons spent years preparing for unique burial
• Body of 82-year-old, who died of cancer, was on display as motorcycle escort led the way to his funeral

By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 22:23 GMT, 31 January 2014 | UPDATED: 06:59 GMT, 1 February 2014

The family of an Ohio biker has fulfilled his dying wish by burying him astride his beloved Harley-Davidson in a see-through casket.
Dressed in his leathers and sunglasses, and sitting on top of his 1967 Electra Glide cruiser, Billy Standley, who died on Sunday, was taken for one last ride.
The body of the 82-year-old, who died of lung cancer, was visible through the transparent Plexiglas coffin that his bike has been placed in.

Billy Standley, of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, carried out his wish to be buried on his 1967 Harley Davidson motorcycle on Friday. He was placed upright in a large Plexiglas casket

Nothing to hide: The man of the hour was front and center during his funeral service in Mechanicsburg, Ohio

For years the Mechanicsburg man had told family and friends that he didn't just want to ride off to heave, he wanted the world to see him do it in a big see-through box.

He started the funeral preparations himself, buying three large burial plots next to his wife, Lorna so the hole would be big enough to accommodate his unique casket.
His sons Pete and Roy fashioned a casket out of Plexiglas and reinfornced the bottom with wood and metal.

Theresa Adams, Bill Standley's daughter, says goodbye to her dad

Standley told people he didn't just want to ride off to heaven, he wanted the world to see him do it in the big see-through box. His extra large plot will leave him next to his wife for all time

To ensure Mr Standley didn't become unseated on his final journey, embalmers prepared his body with a metal back brace and straps.
'We’ve done personalization … but nothing this extreme,' Tammy Vernon, who works at the funeral home, told the Dayton Daily News.
'He was the one who kept throwing this idea out there, to be buried on his bike. We were glad to assist him.'
The family man was pleased with his funeral plans and would show off the casket, which was stored for five years in a garage, to visitors. 

Throwback: Billy Standley riding his prized motorcycle many years ago

Hog heaven: Standley had spoken about being buried on his Harley for years. His sons, Pete and Roy, fashioned the casket out of Plexiglas, reinforcing the bottom with wood and steel rods to handle the extra weight

Upright til eternity: Five embalmers worked to prepare Standley's body with a metal back brace and straps to ensure he'll never lose his seat

'He was proud of it,' Roy Standley said.
While his family agreed that the procession to the cemetery, during which the body was on display, may be shocking, they wanted to honor their father's last wish.
'He'd done right by us all these years, and at least we could see he goes out the way he wanted to,' Pete Standley said.
His daughter, Dorothy, added that he was 'a quirky man'.
Mr Standley, who used to work as a bareback rodeo rider, was be escorted to the ceremony by a procession of bikers.
Some of the mourners at his graveside donned motorcycle jackets for the occasion as they watched the extra large coffin be lowered into its massive plot.