Mark your calendars! On Saturday, June 13th from 10 am – 4 pm, the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston, TX will host the Professional Car Society’s “Concours D’Elegance Show and Shine” car show, as part of the group’s 39th Annual International Meet happening June 9-13, 2015. This unique car show, which is open to the public, is expected to attract dozens of exquisitely-restored or authentically-preserved professional vehicles, including vintage funeral coaches, flower cars, livery vehicles, ambulances, fire trucks and more from all over North America.

  A special highlight for this year’s car show includes a FDNY fire engine used during September 11th rescue and recovery efforts and in 28 funerals for fallen firefighters. Prior to 9/11, the retired fire engine was used at the New York Fire Academy as a training vehicle. On that fateful September day in 2001, the engine was immediately put back into front line service for rescue and recovery efforts and then continued to be used for several months after 9/11. It was particularly valuable since FDNY lost a large number of its engines in 9/11 (approximately 40). The engine, which is currently owned by a retired Houston Fire Department firefighter, will make an appearance at the PCS car show, complete with a flag draped casket and accompanied by a performance by the Houston Fire Department’s pipes and drums ensemble.

  Visitors can also explore a 1965 Cadillac ambulance-funeral coach combination vehicle, a rare 1958 Chevy Bellaire Ambulance, only one of seven known to exist, and more.

  Vehicle makes featured in the car show will span Cadillac, LaSalle, Lincoln, Packard, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Studebaker and other chassis bodied as funeral vehicles or ambulances by such esteemed specialist coachbuilders as Eureka, Flxible, Henney, Pinner, Siebert, Sayers & Scovill, Miller-Meteor, Cotner/Bevington and Superior.

  Car show attendees will also be able to visit the Museum and explore its unparalleled collection of funeral service artifacts, which include horse-drawn and motorized hearses; colorful, hand-carved “fantasy coffins” from Ghana, West Africa; Papal and presidential funeral memorabilia; and displays exploring the mourning rituals of ancient civilizations.

  In addition, visitors will also enjoy the Museum’s rare collection of funeral service vehicles in our Historical Hearses exhibit, which sheds light on the evolution of funerary customs. The vehicles selected for the exhibit range from the elegant horse-drawn funeral carriages of the 19th century to the actual hearses used in the state funeral services of United States Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford as well as the funeral of Grace Kelly. Additional highlights include an elaborate glass-paneled funeral carriage made in Germany in 1850; a 1916 Packard funeral bus, used in place of the funeral procession, large enough to hold the coffin, pallbearers and up to 20 mourners; and a 1921 motorized hearse, whose opulent, hand-carved wooden panels exemplified the extravagance of craftsmanship among hearse manufacturers during the era.

  The National Museum of Funeral History houses the country’s largest collection of funeral service artifacts and features renowned exhibits on one of man’s oldest cultural customs. Visitors can discover the mourning rituals of ancient civilizations, see up-close the authentic items used in the funerals of United States presidents and popes and explore the rich heritage of the industry which cares for the dead.