Barbie-Style Funerals: Why an Ohio Undertaker Sells Bright Pink Coffins and Leopard-Print Urns

Death is usually a somber topic, with little room for humor or extravagance. However, Ohio funeral director Dan Madden believes that final farewells do not have to resemble a gloomy scene from The Addams Family, New York Post reports.

Madden, who has been working in the funeral industry for 23 years, owns Stark Memorial Funeral Home. Upon entering his establishment, grieving families are met not with a traditional heavy atmosphere, but with eye-catching bright pink “Barbie-style” coffins, whose interiors (for example, leopard-print linings) can be fully customized.

In an effort to break the taboo surrounding death, Dan launched the website FashUrns, where he sells the most unconventional and customized funeral products: from urns shaped like bowling pins and PlayStation controllers (for dedicated gamers) to urns featuring Star Wars designs.

“People kept asking if there were other options — something more unique, more vibrant, rather than the traditional boxes everyone is used to,” Madden told The Post. “Many are looking for something bold and colorful that reflects the personality of their loved one.”

Under the username @danthefuneralman, Dan has already built an audience of more than 80,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram. In his videos, he winks at the camera, struts past pink caskets, and poses with biodegradable turtle-shaped urns to Fergie’s hit song “Glamorous.”