Puerto Rican man remains upright - even in death

This is yet another of those "I-dunno-'bout-this' type of stories that you read and wonder, "why?"

A man who lived in Puerto Rico was granted his final wish, which was to remain standing even in death.

You read it right: even in death.

This feat was accomplished by a funeral home that used a special embalming treatment to keep the corpose(!) of one Angel Pantoja Medina, in an upright position during his 3-day wake.

Now anyone reading this can imagine the impact of dropping by to give your sympathy and being met by the dearly departed dressed in a Yankees baseball cap and sunglasses, in his mother's living room.

His brother Carlos told the El Nuevo Dia newspaper the victim had long said he wanted to be upright for his own wake.

"He wanted to be happy, standing."

According to the funeral home who took care of the arrangements, the mother did this to fulfill her son's last wish.

Now perhaps it's just the cynic in me but why would someone - granted he died young - want to be propped up against a wall when she/he dies? Certainly - pure speculation - visitors must have been shocked.

Different strokes for different folks, especially those who are corpses.

Photos of the corpse, visitors and story here: http://www.islandpacket.com/weirdnews/story/582626.html