When it was time to wrap a casket, Richard Collinge always credited himself as being able to “block things out,” or keep his emotions out of it — until he had to wrap his son’s casket in the summer of 2022.
“I did the top,” he said, “I couldn’t finish the rest.”
Collinge lost his son, Richard Collinge, Jr., to gun violence, and the family decided to include a horse and carriage ride through Clinton Avenue as part of the memorial service. Collinge knew a custom wrapped casket would be a beautiful touch.
“I just wanted everybody to see my son on the side of the casket and on the top of it, his pictures, one last time,” he said.
Casket wrapping, which involves transferring a high-res image to a vinyl plastic material and wrapping it around the exterior of the casket using a heat method, is a fairly new practice. It’s believed to have originated in the Southern part of the United States and is most favorable among communities of color. The technique is like wrapping a vehicle but involves more intricate graphic design and an advanced skillset.
“Black folks have always been really creative in how we deal with pain in order to survive, and I think that this is really kind of a creative and expressive form of grief,” said Desmond Upton Patton, University of Pennsylvania professor of social policy, communications and psychiatry.
He compared the practice to the grandiose of a mausoleum by referring to it as another form of loving big out loud.
“It really helps people be able to express that love and depth for a family or friend,” Patton said.
The entire process can take up to three or four days, Collinge said. It includes designing the wrap (which often consists of a portrait of the deceased), acquiring the family's final approval, printing and laminating the final design and applying the wrap to the casket, which can take up to three hours.
Collinge has been wrapping caskets for three years, a skill he learned from business partner Charles Switzer, who completed the wrap on Collinge’s son’s casket.
Together, they have wrapped hundreds of caskets locally and in various cities. During the summer months, when violence tends to peak in the city, Collinge said can wrap up to five caskets a month. He recalls a time when he did three in one week.
“I've literally had people cry as soon as they see it,” Collinge said.
Switzer, who relayed similar experiences, was the first person to wrap a casket in the area.
“Anybody can print, but it’s all about the design,” he said. “It’s all about the application of it."
What once took him hours to complete he can now do in roughly 45 minutes.
“Seeing their expressions when I'm done gives me pleasure to keep doing what I do,” said Switzer.
A casket wrap is not a small expense; it can cost a family anywhere from $700 to $1300 depending on the complexity of the design and whether it’s a full casket wrap or just the top.
That said, Collinge and Switzer have done pro bono work, especially if it’s a death that resonates with them and the community. The duo wrapped the casket of one of the women who died during the stampede after the rap concert at Main Street Armory in March 2023. Collinge also volunteered to wrap the casket for the young boy who died after being struck by a vehicle on Thurston Road in June 2023.
“It’s not all about making money (for) me,” Collinge said. “Sometimes, casket wraps can hit close to home.”
However, not every family takes to the practice. Shawn Watson, director of Memories Funeral Home on Hudson Avenue, said some people prefer a more traditional look and can be critical of the idea.
“They’re definitely beautiful, but some people are more conservative, and it may just be too much for them to see,” he said.
Memories Funeral Home is known for its extravagant memorial services; Watson compares his planning to that of a wedding, where personalization is key.
“If you want your loved one in a in a blimp, I'll put them in there,” he said, “and we'll float them across Rochester.”
Custom casket wrapping has grown in popularity among the younger generation, and Watson said families that lose a loved one to “the streets” often request the service.
“They tend to want to see them in their same element,” he said. “When the casket is being lowered into the ground, that is the last image of their loved one they would like to see.”
