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TheMesaTribune.com | @EVTNow /EVTNow
‘Living funerals’ pose new tradition in Mesa
BY JOSH ORTEGA
Tribune Staff Writer
Four years ago, Wynn Scott’s motherin-law passed away and she learned too late that she had once been a model.
That gave her an idea.
In November 2021, Wynn surprised her husband Ryan with a loving and fun way to celebrate his 50th birthday in November 2021.
Now, Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery in Mesa is taking her idea to start a new tradition.
“It’s so sad that we always wait until someone passes away to tell them how wonderful they were,” said Wynn, who spent 45 days planning the event for her husband of 30 years because she wanted to celebrate his life while he was still on earth.
After three funeral homes rejected her idea, Mountain View Funeral Home & Cemetery in Mesa, said yes. Hilary Samples of Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery said, “We love to do things for the community, so we absolutely said yes” to Wynn Scott’s idea for a “living funeral” for
her husband (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)
“We love to do things for the community, so we absolutely said yes to her and helped with all the planning,” Mountain View Marketing Director Hilary Samples said. Wynn said she wanted to maintain the respect for those buried at the cemetery
–including some of her friends’ relatives – but also have fun with Ryan’s ceremony. Approximately 80 guests attended the event at Mountain View last October and dressed as one typically would for a funeral. The funeral home rented her a casket for free that sat front-and-center. But instead of a body, it was filled with an assortment of beer – including Bud Light, Ryan’s favorite. Guests were greeted in traditional funeral fashion with remembrance posters and a singer playing somber music. Friends of Ryan were invited to share their prepared eulogies as he sat next to the casket drinking a beer. The two-and-a-half-hour event even included Hawaiian hula dancers in honor of Ryan’s favorite vacation spot and ended with dance company’s flash mob performing to the music of Michael JackseeLIVING FUNERAL page 21
Hero is EV veterans parade Grand Marshal
TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF
Retiring Mesa Public Works Director and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Col. Bruce Crandall (ret.) is the 2022 Grand Marshal for the East Valley Veterans Day Parade in downtown Mesa Nov. 11.
The Tempe resident received the Medal of Honor for valor in the Vietnam War as a helicopter pilot and company commander in the 1st Air Cavalry. “As depicted in the film We Were Soldiers, under intense fire, Crandall waited for wounded men to be loaded into his unarmed Huey, refusing to take off until he had filled the cargo bay with soldiers in desperate need of medical attention,” parade organizers said in a release.
As he headed back to base, he heard radio chatter from infantrymen still on the COL. BRUCE CRANDALL (RET.) ground, badly outnumbered by enemy sol- diers and running low on critical supplies and ammunition.
After unloading the wounded back at base, he and Captain Ed Freeman, who also earned the Medal of Honor, volunteered returned with their helicopters loaded with as much water and ammunition as they could carry. Taking enemy fire inside the actual landing zone after they off-loaded the supplies, they reloaded their helicopters with wounded men and raced back to the base hospital. “Many considered the 22 flights made by Crandall and Freeman in the first 14 hours of the three-day battle to be suicide missions,” organizers said.
The “Medal of Honor” third edition states that Crandall “kept coming back into the heavy enemy fire because he knew there was only a ‘magic minute’ to get badly wounded soldiers off the battlefield and into medical treatment.
“That day, Crandall and his wingman evacuated more than seventy wounded and delivered the ammunition and supplies that kept the Americans from being overrun.” In total, Crandall flew 900 missions during the Vietnam War.
Eventually shot down by the North Vietnamese and breaking his back in the crash, he recovered and went on to serve as a commander of engineers for the Army.
After the war, he trained military helicopter pilots.
In honor of and recognition for his courage, valor and service, a grateful nation awarded Crandall two Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart, in addition to the Congressional Medal of Honor. He has been nominated for a second Medal of Honor.
son’s “Thriller” to keep in line with a Halloween theme.
Ryan’s friends served as pallbearers, who loaded the beer-filled casket into a hearse and led a procession of nearly 100 vehicles and an escort of 10 police cars to Lucky Lou’s Bar and Grill in Mesa.
After a celebratory shot with some friends at Ryan’s favorite watering hole, the procession proceeded to the Scott’s home for a masquerade party with more than 100 people in attendance.
“It’s been almost a year and people still talk about it being the most incredible event they’ve been to,” Wynn said.
Ryan – very much alive and kicking – described the whole event as “a little surreal, out-of-body-type experience” but found it a respectful and fun way to poke fun at him for crossing the halfcentury line.
“It was special to me because of how much was put into it and how many people are involved in and how it all turned out,” he said.
Ryan said the level of effort put into the event is what really knocked him dead.
“That was probably the most surprising part was just how organized and how intense the whole thing was – but in a good way.”
Wynn is no stranger to planning funerals as she briefly studied mortuary science at Mesa Community College but dropped the course after losing interest.
When it was all said and done, Wynn said she spent nearly $10,000 on the en-
MARSHALL from page 20
“We are honored to have Colonel Bruce Crandall serve as this year’s Parade Marshal,” said East Valley Veterans Parade Association President Lisa Sandoval. “He typifies the outstanding work and sacrifices made by our veterans and active military who we seek to recognize Approximately 80 people attended Ryan Scott’s “living funeral” at Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery in Mesa. (Courtesy of Wynn Scott)
tire event.
“I was kind of expecting to get some backlash on it,” Hilary Samples said. “It was very, very well received from everybody who attended.”
Like anything today, Wynn said there was some backlash in her Yelp review of the funeral home, but everyone enjoyed the celebration of life.
“As you get older, you've got to kind of take life with a grain of salt and be a little bit lighthearted about it,” Ryan said.
With families wanting to create new traditions, Samples said living funerals are more about sharing in the celebration of life than mourning over death.
Wynn’s idea has inspired Mountain
and thank through this annual parade.”
The East Valley Veterans Parade Association is an all-volunteer community event organization that relies on the generosity of local businesses, organizations, and individuals to accomplish this collective patriotic tribute.
Information about the parade: evvp.
org. View to offer living funerals as “the future of cremation services.”
“Many wonder what will be said at their funeral and a living funeral is the opportunity to do so,” Samples said.
Samples said Mountain View has seen a 15% increase in the number of cremations during the pandemic and that many families that chose that option postponed memorial services until in-person gatherings were allowed.
Much like the event itself, Samples said the costs of a living funeral will vary.
Samples said Wynn’s idea has inspired at least one other family to do the same albeit in a different tone, adding that simple acts like a grandmother sharing a family recipe with her adult granddaughter can make the ceremony special.
“We often don’t say the things we want to say until it’s too late,” Samples said. “This gives families and friends the opportunity to speak their mind before the person is gone.”
Information: mountainviewfuneral-
homeand cemetery.com
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THE MESA TRIBUNE | SEPTEMBER 11, 2022
Gilbert man eyes drones to help Ukraine war victims
BY ASHLYN ROBINETTE
Tribune Contributor
Gilbert resident Harrison Becker is building drones to deliver humanitarian aid to Ukrainians in need.
Since Russia deployed its military into neighboring Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians have been displaced abroad or within the country seeking safety, according to TIME.
Widespread airstrikes continue, with homes and civilian infrastructure being targeted and destroyed, leaving thousands of people without adequate water, heat and electricity. Many are also unable to reach stores to buy basic necessities because roads and bridges are unpassable, according to the International Rescue Committee.
Shaken by Russia’s aggressive invasion of Ukraine, Becker knew he had to help.
So, he plans to build drones that can get supplies into remote, hard-to-reach locations, directly to people in need without endangering more lives or risking the supplies falling into enemy hands. Gilbert resident Harrison Becker tests out one of the drones he has built to provide needed humanitarian supplies to war-struck Ukrainians. (Ashlyn Robinette/Tribune Contributor)
“I started seeing the news about the war and decided I wanted to help out if I could,” said Becker, president of Aerial Delivery Services, LLC.
After three years majoring in electrical engineering at Brigham Young University in Utah, Becker moved back to Arizona, where he currently runs Aerial Delivery Services. The company specializes in delivery services with drones.
Once Becker learned of the UkraineRussia crisis, he realized that his drones could transport humanitarian supplies in a much faster, safer way.
“The idea is, if you get as close as you can to where the delivery is needed, then you can just hook up your drone, set it up and fly it over there and then it returns,” the 27-year-old said.
Becker’s “Guardian Angel Drones” can lift up to 10 pounds of supplies at a time for a distance of two to four miles. Examples of supplies are insulin, bandages, food and water.
Finished drones will be sent to Samuel Lyles and Solomon Smith of Backroads Foundation in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The pair will use the drones to distribute humanitarian aid packages in locations that cannot be accessed by vehicles due to blown-out roads and bridges. Backroads Foundation is a nonprofit based in Ukraine that delivers supplies
seeDRONES page 24
23 Nonprofit scores big for Mesa junior high soccer
BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer
Lōkahi Teams, a Scottsdale-based nonprofit, scored in helping the Poston Junior High School boys and girls soccer teams get new jerseys with an assist from Assistant Principal Rachel Hassan and parents group Treasurer Jennifer Greer. “It’s like when the stars align and just everything seemed to just work out perfectly,” Hassan said. “But I know it wasn’t just by chance.” Lōkahi Teams supports school and recreational youth athletic programs by helping them secure equipment, uniforms and even facilities. Hassan, who has 18 years of experience in Mesa in both elementary schools and community college, is in her first year at the junior high level while Greer is secretary for the Poston Parent Network. “I can’t take credit,” Greer said “It really is Lōkahi Teams; they’re just amazing.” Hassan said the girls played their first game of the season in their old jerseys Ryan Blakeman and Lōkahi Teams, a Scottsdale nonprofit, helped the Poston Junior High boys and girls soccer teams get new jerseys. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)
in mid-August. Boys soccer starts later this year. Less than a week after the girls’ season started, Lōkahi Teams presented the girls with their new jerseys. Hassan said money has been a problem for both soccer programs since the 2011-2012 school year, when Mesa Public Schools officially moved its ninth graders into high schools. “We want to make sure that we are keeping their sports alive and giving our students an outlet,” Hassan said, explaining that school looks for ways to support that goal. “Junior high definitely has less funding,” Hassan said. “And we are always looking for more help and more resources to keep our teams afloat.” Lōkahi Teams – which takes its name for the Hawaiian word for “harmony” and “teamwork” –thought it could help Hassan realize that goal. CEO Ryan Blakeman said that over the past year, the nonprofit has helped supplement other athletic programs including Mesa, Westwood, Dobson and Red Mountain high schools. “Any need that a school has … if we can meet that need, we’ll help,” Blakeman said. Blakeman knows firsthand the struggles of youth sports coaches given that he is in his 11th year as the wrestling coach at seeJERSEY'S page 24
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Fremont Junior High School in Mesa.
Until a few years ago, Blakeman would reach out to his friends who owned local businesses and ask them for sponsorships to help purchase equipment such as shirts and wrestling shoes. His wife Jamie started Lōkahi civil engineering firm in Scottsdale in 2019 and felt a charitable arm would help other needy schools’ athletic programs the way Ryan had been helping Fremont.
“She wanted to expand upon what I was doing at Fremont to the rest of the city,” Ryan said.
A lifelong athlete who has coached numerous kids, including four of his own, Ryan said both he and his wife want every kid to have the same opportunity to play in sports. “I’ve seen so many kids and the impact
THE MESA TRIBUNE | SEPTEMBER 11, 2022 sports can make in their lives that it was just something that we felt was important to kind of expand upon,” he said. Ryan was a running back for University of San Diego football in the mid-90s and eventually moved on to Northern Arizona University to complete his masters degree.
Ryan said he hopes to expand his efforts and provide equipment for every junior high in the Valley and scholarships for program fees for any high school athlete who needs help. “I would just love to get to the point where we have the funding to be able to just go out and impact as many kids as we possibly can every year,” Blakeman said.
“The community can help us with both support and also with helping spread the word on what we’re doing,” Ryan said.
Information: Lokahiteams.org.
DRONES from page 22
and resources to communities that are typically inaccessible due to conflict and other factors. Becker has already finished building one drone, but needs community support to complete the rest.
“I really can’t do this without the funding,” he said. “I want to build four more drones. I was hoping to have five drones total. Any help that I can get, even if people are unable to donate, if they would even just share and get the word out, I’d appreciate it.”
Becker is primarily self-funded, but needs sufficient funding to keep going. His first drone cost $3,000 to make, and the rest will cost about the same amount each.
On top of production costs are transportation costs. It will cost about $3,000 for his team to travel to Ukraine to train the pilots and ensure his drones get to the right people. To help cover expenses, Becker launched a GoFundMe campaign. It has raised just over $1,200, with a goal of $18,000.
“As long as there’s money coming in and the war is still going, we’ll keep building drones,” he wrote.
To help Becker deliver humanitarian supplies to Ukrainians, donate to his Go-
FundMe page: gofund.me/cdefc500.
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