On Monday, memorial services were held for some of the 19 students and two teachers murdered in last week’s horrific shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, with 19 of the victims being buried in customized coffins made by casket builder Trey Ganem.
Ganem, the owner of SoulShine Industries, has offered his services free of charge to the families of the Uvalde mass shooting victims.
“I didn’t even think twice when I was asked to do it,” Ganem told CNN, “and God always takes care of us.”
According to BuzzFeed News, The Texas Funeral Directors Association approached Ganem, 50, on the day of the shooting to create the unique caskets. He has already made coffins for 19 of the deceased. The average cost of a SoulShine Industries casket is $3,400 to $3,800, but Ganem has no intention of charging the families.
“This is something no family should ever have to deal with,” Ganem told BuzzFeed. “My love and emotions are already there.”
“We’re here to try to make a hard time a little easier,” Billy said. “There’s nothing we can really ever do to make it easier, but that’s our goal: to help the families … start their grieving and their healing and just try to make something special for them.”
Funeral masses began on Tuesday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and funerals are expected to continue through June 13 at Rushing-Estes-Knowles Mortuary.
