One Hoosier loved her Cadilac so much that she took it to the grave with her.

For Some it's More Than Just a Car

We all know someone who has a car that they're very sentimental about.  For me, that person in my dad.  He still owns his very first car, a 1969 Mach 1 Mustang.  He's since fully restored it and now it's a show car.  We've often joked that if my dad could, he'd be buried in that car.   I also like to joke and say that I may be my dad's firstborn child, but I am not his first baby.  That honor goes to the Acapulco blue 4-speed in his garage.

We all know someone like my dad whose love of cars runs deep, and one Indiana woman even took her beloved car to the grave.

A Woman, Her Cadillac, and One Wild Final Ride

Located along the Ohio River near Cincinnati, Ohio is a small Indiana city called Aurora.  Aurora is home to many unique things, including the final resting place of Aurora Schuck and her red Cadillac.

According to Indiana Public Media, Aurora was originally from Cuba and came to visit family in the United States in 1947.  While visiting family she met Raymond and the two married in 1948.  They ran a successful family-owned plumbing business and a (now) legendary red Cadillac.

By the 1970s, the couple was known not only for their business but for the red Eldorado Cadillac convertible that Aurora always drove—with the top down whenever possible. When Aurora was diagnosed with incurable cancer in 1989, her last wish was to be buried in her car.

Aurora's husband fulfilled his wife's final wish by purchasing 14 grave plots so she could be laid to rest with her car.  Indiana Public Media explains that a 27-foot-long and 12-foot-wide concrete vault was poured to be able to hold the car.   The red Cadillac was given one final wax job, and lowered by a crane into the grave with the top down.  Aurora's casket was then placed on top of her beloved Cadillac.

A Unique Final Resting Place

Of course with a unique burial like this, at the time it made national headlines, and you can see some of the photos of the burial on Find A Grave, here.  It's absolutely fascinating.  Aurora's beloved husband later passed away and was cremated with some of his remains being placed into the grave with his wife.  I like to think that the two are cruising some golden streets with the top down right now.

Many folks like to visit the grave of Aurora and Raymond Schuck to pay their respects, and minus the fact that there's quite a bit of space between that grave and others, it is a regular-looking grave, you'd never know that just below the ground there is not only a casket but also a red Cadillac.