“Roll me up and smoke me when I die.” – Willie Nelson
It may be a Willie Nelson song, but it sure would be a unique way to leave a legacy.
Unlike Willie, for most people, their legacy has to do with the impact they’ve had on their family, friends, community and the world around them.
But not everyone chooses to be remembered the same way.
We’re taking a look at some of the most unique ways that celebrities and notable historical figures have chosen to leave their legacy, and one way that the Oakville Community Foundation can help you.
1. Body Preservation
Before English Philosopher Jeremy Bentham died, he made careful plans for the preservation of his body. In his Will, he wrote that he wished for his skeleton and head to be preserved and “put together in such a manner that the whole figure may be seated in a chair usually occupied by me when living, in the attitude in which I am sitting while engaged in thought in the course of time occupied in writing.”
His preserved body was stored in a cabinet that could be opened and closed and has been on display at the University College of London ever since.
2. Wealthy Pets
Over the years, a number of celebrities have chosen to leave a portion of their wealth to their pets in their Will. Hotelier Leona Helmsley left a $12 million trust fund to her dog, Trouble. Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld’s “little heiress”, his cat Choupette, was left with $1.2 million, while Alexander McQueen also left a trust for his dogs.
3. Becoming Art
American comic book writer and editor Mark Gruenwald, known for Marvel’s Captain America and Iron Man, included in his Will his desire to be cremated and have his ashes be part of a comic book. After his death, his ashes were mixed with the ink in the first printing of Squadron Supreme.
4. To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before
Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, requested that his ashes be sent to space. In 1992, some of his ashes were flown into space on the space shuttle Columbia, before returning to Earth. In 1997, a spacecraft containing his ashes, as well as 23 other people’s ashes, was launched into space, where it orbited until its deterioration in 2002.
5. Alphabetized
Throughout his life, George Bernard Shaw was a very vocal critic of the English alphabet. Upon his death in 1950, his Will stipulated that James Pitman, creator of the Pitman Shorthand, devise the Shaw Alphabet. After his death, four possible alphabets were created through a competition and then amalgamated to become the Shavian Alphabet.
Over the years, several works of classic literature have been translated into the Shavian Alphabet, including Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Pride and Prejudice.
If none of these ideas sound right for you, don’t worry, there’s an easier way to leave a legacy, and it’s right here with the Oakville Community Foundation.
You can create a Bequest Fund today to be carried out later, through your estate. This Bequest ensures that our community and the causes that are important to you continue to be supported even after you’re gone.
The needs of the community will continue to change over the years, sometimes in ways that aren’t immediately clear or obvious. These legacy gifts look further into the future than we can currently see, anticipating the challenges and solutions that will need support.
The legacy you leave today will continue on in the community for years to come, and maybe not in a way that will have you on a list like this one, but because it carries the most impact.
How do you want to be remembered?
To learn more about leaving a legacy gift, click here or contact us at giving@theocf.org.
P.S. Willie Nelson is still alive so we don’t know if this song request is actually in his Will.
