By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated:
This mortuary is going about as far as you can get from the idea of ‘rest in peace’.
At Robert L. Adams Mortuary in Compton, California, family members can have a dead relative placed on show in an open casket behind a drive-thru display window.
The owner says it means well-known locals can be viewed on masse, older people don’t have to leave cars and those afraid of funeral parlours don’t have to go inside.
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On show: At Robert L. Adams Mortuary in California, family members can have a dead relative placed in an open casket behind a drive-thru display window
For all to see: Community volunteer Bernice Woods died last month and her children opted to place her open casket in the drive-thru display
Community volunteer and former council member Bernice Woods was known for her impressive hats and jewellery and enjoyed being in the public eye.
So when she died last month her children opted to place her open casket in the drive-thru display at the Compton mortuary, reported the Los Angeles Times.
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‘My mother was a community person,’ said Gregory W. Woods, 55, the youngest of her ten children. ‘She meant so much to so many people.
‘It is only fitting and proper that she would be viewed this way.’
Open: The covered and paved 12ft wide drive-thru is near the main double doors and its long glass bulletproof display window is visible from the street
Rare idea: Only a few drive-thru funeral parlours are known to operate in America, with one in Chicago and another in Louisiana
The funeral parlour has existed since 1974 and greets visitors with a huge red-lettered sign above the entrance, with gold chandeliers in the reception lounge.
The covered and paved 12ft wide drive-thru is near the main double doors and its long glass bulletproof display window is visible from the street.
Only a few other drive-thru funeral parlours are known to operate in America, with one in Chicago and another in Louisiana.
Robert L. Adams owner Peggy Scott Adams said: ‘It's a unique feature that sets us aside from other funeral parlours.’
Fitting venue: It has existed since 1974 and greets visitors with a huge red sign above the entrance, with gold chandeliers in the reception lounge
Ideal: The venue became popular for gang funerals in the 1980s after cemetery shootouts made members reluctant to gather for funerals
She married former Compton politician Robert Lee Adams Sr. in 1988 and when he died in 2005 she continued his legacy.
‘You can come by after work, you don't need to deal with parking, you can sign the book outside and the family knows that you paid your respects,’ she said.
The venue became popular for gang funerals after cemetery shootouts in the 1980s made members reluctant to gather for funerals, Mrs Adams said.
Funerals at the mortuary range from $1,295 upwards.
Watch the Los Angeles Times video report
