Roxa Izetta Keele

"When a death occurred in Panaca, George Lee Edwards, owner of a sawmill would use “the choice pieces of lumber he had kept for use by himself in building caskets. At the time of death, he and David Keele would set to work building a casket. When completed, the casket looked just as nice as any store-purchased one. The sides were lined with cotton or wool bats covered with white silk and the outside was covered with white brocaded velvet. A silver plate was placed on top and six silver handles to match were attached. These latter supplies were kept on hand at the local store. Since there were no undertakers in town or within hundreds of miles, my parents helped to care for the dead by washing and laying them out, and sitting up with the body, keeping it packed in ice so it wouldn’t become discolored. The corpse was dressed shortly before burial. My mother helped make many a burial suit. The total cost of the burial would not exceed twenty-five dollars, as everyone donated their time and effort. It did not matter whether the deceased was a Church member or not, everyone was treated the same.”—Roxa Edwards Keele-(wife of George Quincy Keele) Our Pioneer Heritage Vol. 20, p183

SOURCE: davidkeele.blogspot.com