A Pine Box Fulfills Last Wish of a Patterson Man; by George Loewen Patterson Irrigator News Reporter Robert Sutherland always wanted to be buried in a pine box and his family wasn t about to let him down. He was laid to rest last week in the Winton Cemetery in a homemade pine coffin. It was right out of an old western, the kind he loved. "He wanted to be buried in a pine box," his daughter, Shirley Trio, said. "He was a big fan of Gunsmoke, the old TV series. Even as a kid, he said, ‘I want to be buried in a coffin like that on Gunsmoke. His dying wish was to have his sons and grandsons build him a coffin like those on Gunsmoke. It may have seemed like a crazy idea to family members, and they say they ve heard a lot of them. But no matter how offbeat or implausible they were, Sutherland s wishes were always carried out. "Everything he wanted, we carried out," Trio said. "Right down to the red suit he wore at Christmas. Red was his favorite color." For his burial, Sutherland was dressed in the red suit. With his boots on, as if he was ready to line dance with the angels. He also wanted everyone in red, his favorite color, instead of the traditional black or somber tones.

"He would always say ‘I don t care what anyone says. That s what I want done. So we did it," Jackie Basaldua, one of his granddaughters said. "Because Grandpa was so adamant, we were so adamant. That s how we got it done." Trio, who flew in from St. Louis on Wednesday; Basaldua; Dawn Buhler, another granddaughter; Mike Buhler. a grandson; and Domingo Basaldua, a friend of Sutherland s took about a day to build the coffin. They ended up with a diamond-shaped coffin, like in the Wild West. The wood was sanded and stained.

No frills: The inside was lined with padding and a mattress. There s a pillow to rest Sutherland s head on. Other than that, there are no frills. "He was a simple man. He didn t want anything fancy," Dawn Buhler said. Including the wood and padding, the coffin cost about $150 to build, Trio said. That reduced the overall cost of the funeral, as most coffins these days go for $4,000 or more. Family members don t want to be burdened with the cost of a new coffin, on top of dealing with the loss of a loved one. "Anyone can do this. The only rules are a person can t be cramped. He has to be relaxed," Trio said. "There can be any type of padding. It can t have any rough edges." It also has to be watertight and have seal locks. The finished coffin measured 78 inches long by 22 inches wide and 20 inches deep. Sutherland was less than six feet tall. "There were no objections from the funeral home or the cemetery," Trio said. "Just as long as he s comfortable and not cramped."

Cowboy boots: The coffin was taken to the funeral home in Merced on Thursday in the back of a pickup. Sutherland was then dressed in his cowboy boots and red suit and placed in his coffin. a reminder of what he had on earth. He was buried among his loved ones in the Winton Cemetery on Friday. It was an open casket service. "Most people do what they want when someone dies, not what the dying person wants." Trio said. "I don t know why more people don t do this. Sutherland died on Tuesday. The construction of his desired resting place began at about 6 am. Wednesday and got done at about 1 a.m. Thursday. "A lot of people came up to us on their evening walks and wondered. what we were doing," Trio said. Family members were just sending a little part of them selves with their father and grandfather.