Bill Bramanti, Glenwood village administrator, picked out his coffin and had it painted to resemble a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer can, Bramanti's favorite brand. For now, he plans to use the coffin as a cooler during family parties.
(Mary Compton/SouthtownStar)
"I actually fit, because I got in here," said Bramanti - 5 feet 9 inches tall and about 280 pounds - leaning on the silver casket with a can of PBR in his hand.
Bramanti isn't dying. He just wants to be prepared.
With "100 years" until he meets his maker, the South Chicago Heights man threw a party Saturday for his future burial home and showed family and friends how he plans to use the coffin until he dies. He scheduled the entertainment for 3 to 8 p.m., the hours of a typical wake.
"I'm going to use it as a cooler until I really need it," said Bramanti, 67. "You see, I'm going to get my money's worth. Hopefully I get to use it many times."
The silver coffin is laminated with the design of a red, white and blue PBR beer can. The inside contains a black liner to prevent seepage so Bramanti can store cold brews in it until he winds up inside. On Saturday, it was filled with ice and PBR. Bramanti thinks it can fit about 15 cases of beer and 150 pounds of ice.
"I wouldn't expect anything less for my dad," said Bramanti's daughter Cathy, who was one of about 25 people munching on roast beef sandwiches and sipping PBR inside a 2,000-square-foot barn Bramanti built in South Chicago Heights for parties. "He's a man that loves to entertain. He likes it when people are happy. This is what he does. There's all kinds of things in here."
Cathy Bramanti, 42, pointed to the happy birthday, happy graduation and political signs that line the walls inside the barn, which was shaped like a box, felt like a warehouse and had not a barrel of hay in sight.
"Why put such a great novelty piece up on a shelf in storage when you could use it only the way Bill Bramanti would use it?" Cathy Bramanti said of the coffin.
Her father ordered the casket from Panozzo Bros. Funeral Home in Chicago Heights. Scott Sign Co. in Chicago Heights designed the PBR can that spans the length of the casket. Bramanti said he doesn't yet know how much the coffin will cost. He'll have to shell out $2,000 for the artwork.
"My dad used to come out here when he was in college, so for my whole life, I've heard the stories of crazy Uncle Bill," said Bramanti's nephew Joe Bramanti, 20. "This tops most of them."
Kristen Schorsch can be reached at kschorsch@southtownstar.com or (708) 633-5992. Kristen also blogs about Tinley Park at blogs.southtownstar.com.
