BREMERTON, Wash. — EDITOR'S NOTE: This is an encore segment of KING 5's Evening.
Restoring a car takes time and money and in some cases a unique sense of humor.
Just ask the members of Bremerton-based Anubis Hearse Club.
"We have a saying: don't let your first ride be your last ride,” said member Stephen Prange. “If you've got to go, go in style."
There are nearly 20 members in the unique car club, all proud owners of retired internment carriages.
Prange drives a 1994 Lincoln Towncar. The 1979 Cadillac belongs to Bryan Todd, who said hearses are the ultimate custom cars.
“Hearses, from the front doors back, are actually all custom. So each hearse is handmade,” Todd said.
The most colorful one, painted pink and purple with tulle in the interior, belongs to founding member Ronda Connelly.
"We put the fun in funeral,” she said.
Connelly was the first to invest in a hearse. It was a gift from her dad, who was battling terminal cancer. He loved to rebuild old cars and wanted it to be their last project together.
Through her loss, Connelly found a new passion. When some friends bought their own hearses, Anubis was formed.
"The worst parts of death that bring people together is the best things of death that brought us together,” she said.
From March through October, the club stays busy riding in parades, appearing at car shows, and donating to food drives. Dashboards are filled with signatures from Crypticon celebrities. And the refurbished interiors are designed to put on a good show.
"We wanted something that people could climb into, take really cool pictures with, and pose with different props, so we put a twin bed in the back,” Prange said.
Anubis Hearse Club pops up at different events around the area, so keep an eye on their Facebook page to find out where they'll be next.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is an encore segment of KING 5's Evening.
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