It has been more than a week since the school shooting that took place in Uvalde Texas, killing the lives of 18 children and one teacher from the Robb Elementary School.
The massacre has claimed innocent lives, and after the horrific event, the victims are finally being laid to their resting place.
Trey Ganem of SoulShine Industries made customized caskets for the 19 victims.
Their family-owned company based in Edna, Texas has paid for almost everything needed to complete the caskets. According to Trey, the Texas Funeral Directors Association contacted him on the day of the shooting so he can make the customized caskets.
Upon hearing this request, Trey knew what he had to do. Together with his 25-year-old son, the man got to work and tirelessly built the caskets until they can be delivered to the funeral homes.
The caskets were bought in Georgia from a company that completed them after working for 20 hours straight.
Upon delivery to Trey, he and his son worked on them for three days and completed the customization of all 19 caskets in time for the funeral service. He shared that he barely slept, with only 6 hours of sleep to run on.
The heartbreaking news propelled the businessman to do his best and complete the job as soon as possible. He eventually met with the families of the victims to discuss on the customized design for each casket.
The designs of the caskets varied. Some were Spider-Man inspired, others are TikTok inspired and there were also sports-themed.
According to Trey, Marisol Gonzalez of SOLart Designs and Justin Watts of The Graphix House helped with the graphics and decals for the caskets. Each one of them was made with compassion for the victims who were unfortunately taken on that fateful day in Texas.
“We don’t just put a vinyl wrap on top. We actually custom paint every single one. We take the casket completely apart, and we paint the hardware, we paint the bars,” Trey told CNN. “The class and the passion that we put into these is bar none.”
The caskets did not come cheap, but the family-owned company did not mind at all.
Trey shared that the caskets cost between $3,400 and $3,800 to build. It is not a small amount, definitely, but the innocent victims who were to receive the caskets deserved to have the best.
Various donations were sent to Trey to assist in the completion of the caskets. While these are a lot, Trey shared that they have shouldered most of the expenses in building the customized caskets.
“I didn’t even think twice when I was asked to do it,” he shares further, “And God always takes care of us.”
Trey’s business of customized caskets began 11 years ago, after the death of his friend. He has made custom caskets for previous mass shooting incidents, particularly in Sutherland Springs and Las Vegas. He’s also built the custom casket for celebrities and artists.
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