Art “Arturo” Parrish
Founder and President

Art Parrish is a successful businessman who sold his manufacturing company to a large publicly traded corporation several years ago-thinking he was finally retired. He took advantage of his new freedom with several sojourns, traveling extensively in Mexico, Central America and parts of South America. Of particular interest was visiting different rain forests when not residing near the Volcano Baru or Boquete in Panama. While there, among the lush, tropical forests and pristine waters, Art decided it was a good time to get his final affairs in order, as foreign adventure sometimes has an unplanned downside.

Never a traditionalist, Art had strong ideas about his final passage and how it should be unique to him. What he found, however, was an American funeral industry void of individuality and more inspired to profit-making than to expressing the unique personality of the departed.

While on a sabbatical back in the United States, Art's friends and family encouraged him to use his inventiveness to choose how his own coffin could represent the life he had in a meaningful and artistic way. When he returned to Panama, Art was befriended by an expatriate named Joachim "El Mago" Montoya - Señor Montoya, a retired environmental architect, Whitbread/Volvo Race navigator, and developer of the Isla Verde resort near the Volcano Baru and Boquete, was intrigued with Art's personalized coffin ideas and encourage him to incorporate eco-friendly aspects in his plans, specifically by using a certain biodegradable pine for his coffin designs.

With these eco-friendly and artistic ideas in his head, along with the picturesque beauty of the Central American mountains surrounding him, Art had somewhat of an epiphany-to create a company that did get it. He would create one that took the bleak out of death, that catered to the individual with more than hollow words, and that left the tired, traditional burial industry in the past while at the same time looking to the future with care for the environment.

In regards to his company, Art commented, "I came out of retirement to start CoffinwrX.com, where I can now help to openly express feelings and emotions critical to the future well-being of all those touched by a loss and bring a special peace to other people as they plan for their own personally expressive final event."

Randal “Randy” Taylor
Director of Design

Randy is beyond a doubt our artistic "champion". Of all the materials Randy uses to create works of art, his greatest passion is wood. He brings that love and expertise to CoffinwrX.com where he designs traditional, personal, and eco-friendly coffins and urns.

With his bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University in art education and his master's degree from The University of Toledo, Randy instructed at the high school level for twenty-five years. He infused his love of wood with his love of art and taught woodworking, architectural design, architectural drawing and wood sculpturing.

As an artist-entrepreneur, Randy has fashioned inspired wood sculptures for corporations and individual clients around the country for well over thirty years. His fondness for wood has always been a part of him and his unique creations appear in numerous public buildings, corporate offices, and private collections. His clients respect his talent to such a large extent that they await the "unveiling" of a piece with ease devoid of checking on his day-to-day progress.

Randy notes that, "adding joy to people's lives with my artistic achievements has been a gratifying ride for me. My creations for CoffinwrX.com can help others have an individualized and eco-friendly final journey."

Funeral Consumers Alliance

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