Former CFSA Board member Mike Beardsley, now semi-retired while remaining a consultant for Thacker Caskets, spent most of his professional career working for the Marsellus Casket Company in Syracuse, New York, before the company was closed in 2003. Mike, who chaired CFSA’s 100th Anniversary Committee in 2013, is known to many in the industry as our resident “Historian”. He authored much of the text and contributed nearly all of the timeless images produced in our commemorative Centennial hardcopy book, CFSA: 100 Year of Service.
Mike has recently been researching some notable people who were buried in a Marsellus Casket. Although he continues with his research, we are sharing below a portion of his list to date:
Eddy Arnold (Entertainer, Country Singer) – M710 President
Arthur Ashe (Tennis Star) – M710 President Mahogany
Cardinal Joseph Bernardin (Archbishop of Cincinnati) – 710 Mahogany Priest Casket
Leonard Bernstein (Composer, Conductor, NY Philharmonic) – 730 Heritage Mahogany
Owen Bradley (Record Producer, the “Nashville Sound”) – M680 Bradford Cherry
David Brinkley (Newscaster, NBC and ABC) – M710 President Mahogany
Michael Bronfman (Seagram’s heir) – M700 Masterpiece Mahogany
Charles Bronson (Actor) – M710 President Mahogany
George Burns (Actor, Comedian) – M680 Bradford Cherry
Jimmy Cagney (Actor) – M720 Mahogany
Amon G. Carter, Jr. (Dir. of American Airlines) – M700 Masterpiece Mahogany
W.W. “Foots” Clements (Chairman, Dr. Pepper) – M710 President Mahogany
Harvey Lavan “Van” Cliburn (Virtuoso Pianist) – M710 President Mahogany
Pete Conrad (Astronaut) – M678 Victorian Cherry
Terence Cardinal Cooke (Archbishop of New York City) – 935 Lincoln Priest Case, Walnut
Joe DiMaggio (NY Yankees Baseball Star) – M776 Versailles Mahogany
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (Actor) – M710 President, Mahogany
Joseph Marion Haggar (Founder of Haggar Pants Co.) – M700 Masterpiece Mahogany
Alex Haley (Author, “Roots”) M710 President Mahogany
Jack Haley, Jr. (Film Director, “That’s Entertainment”) M710 President Mahogany
Jim Henson (Muppets creator) – 454 Oxford Birch
John Heinz (Senator, Pennsylvania) – M710 President Mahogany
Ben Hogan (Professional Golfer) – M710 President Mahogany
Hubert H. Humphrey (U.S. Vice President) – M663 Cherry
John F. Kennedy (U.S. President) – 710 Mahogany
Herbert Khaury (“Tiny Tim”; Entertainer, Pop Singer) – 710 FHT President, Carved Top, Mahogany
Tom Landry (Football Coach, Dallas Cowboys) – M730 Heritage Mahogany
Vince Lombardi (Football Coach, Packers, Redskins) – M930 Walnut
Myrna Loy (Actress) – M720 Mahogany
Mickey Mantle (NY Yankees Baseball Star) – M700 Masterpiece Mahogany
J. Howard Marshall, II (Oil Tycoon) – M710 President Mahogany
Thurgood Marshall (Supreme Court Justice) – M180 Saratoga Pine (ceremonial use only)
Billy Martin (NY Yankees Baseball Player, Coach) – M700 Masterpiece Mahogany
George Meany (AFL-CIO President) – M710 President Mahogany
Richard M. Nixon (U.S. President) – M710 President Mahogany
Pat Nixon (First Lady) – M710 President Mahogany
Cardinal John O’Connor (Archbishop of New York City) – 730 Mahogany Priest Casket
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (First Lady) – M710 President, Mahogany
Claude Pepper (Senator, Florida) – M710 President Mahogany
Marjorie Merriweather Post (founder of General Foods) – M700 Masterpiece Mahogany
Adolph Rupp (Basketball Coach, University of Kentucky) – M447 Birch
Ronald Reagan (U.S. President) – M700 Masterpiece Mahogany
Nelson A. Rockefeller (U.S. Vice President) – M730 Mahogany
Bill Samuels, Sr. (Founder of Maker’s Mark Distillery) – M776-S Versailles Mahogany (DR)
George C. Scott (Actor) – M720 Mahogany
John Tower (Senator, Texas) – M710 President Mahogany
Harry S. Truman (U.S. President) – M720 Mahogany
Bess Truman (First Lady) – M720 Mahogany
Henry Wade (District Attorney, “Roe versus Wade”) – M180 Saratoga Pine
Chris “Biggy Smalls” Wallace (Entertainer, Rapper) – M700 Masterpiece Mahogany
Tammy Wynette (Entertainer, Country Singer) – M710 President Mahogany
Abraham Zapruder (Filmed Kennedy Assassination) – 454 Birch
Mike Beardsley offered this final comment: “I wish to extend a very special thanks to Jim Kurtz, John Marsellus, Rodney Wells, and Larry Robbins, all of whom contributed greatly to this compilation. This is an ‘active investigation’. New data is being sought to make the listing as complete and accurate as possible.” Please send any corrections or additions to Mike Beardsley at casketeer@aol.com.