Here's another way to remember your loved ones, by preserving their tattoos after death

Boston Globe

3 days ago

'He got that one long before we met,' mused Angelica, speaking via telephone the other day from her hometown of Wheeling, W.Va. 'I'm guessing he got it in the late '80s, maybe early '90s. It was on his right triceps, part of an arm sleeve, his only sports tattoo … and he loved it.'
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Just as Radevski's memory lives on with Angelica, 35, and Preston, their 10-year-old son, so does his Steelers tattoo. Soon after TJ's death, Angelica had it preserved and framed by Kyle Sherwood, an Ohio-based mortician and third-generation funeral home director who nearly 10 years ago founded
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'Right now, I've got TJ in the dining room,' said Angelica, referring to her late husband's framed tattoo, which is approximately 25 square inches. 'He's sitting in my grandmother's chair. But we'll move him around, dining room, living room, mantel. It's feels good to hold him.'
For the labor-and-delivery nurse turned college professor, TJ's framed artwork resonates far more, and deeper, than the small, nondescript box of ashes she received after his cremation. That has been just one of the myriad surprises she has experienced in her grief-and-recovery journey.
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'I thought the ashes were going to fill something that had been missing,' she said. 'You know, he'd be home, and it'll feel complete. Then I had [his ashes] on the mantel, next to one of our pictures, and for me it was like, 'How did my 250-pound, muscular, loud, tattooed husband accumulate to a box?' '
Characterizing that revelation as 'the worst feeling in the world and everything that I didn't even think of,' she said her mind-set changed immediately once Sherwood delivered TJ's preserved Steelers tattoo.
'The tattoo was, 'Wow! This is my husband,' ' Angelica recalled. 'I know the crinkles [in the preserved skin] are from his muscles — the tattoo is him. There were so many components to it that, he's
there
. I feel him there, spiritually and energetically, I really do. But this was the physical, selfish component that we all want — for them always to be with us.'
According to Sherwood, Save My Ink Forever has preserved 'thousands' of tattoos, ranging in size from an inked wedding band to a full-body display, with prices ranging from slightly less than $2,000 to, in the case of the full-body tattoo of a Saskatchewan man, a little more than $100,000.
Yet for the growing prevalence of tattooed athletes — especially among NBA, NFL, and MLB players — Sherwood said Radevski's tattoo was the first sports-specific ink he has been asked to preserve.
'Honestly, that's surprised me,' said Sherwood, whose funeral home and tattoo preservation business is in Sagamore Hills, roughly halfway between Cleveland and Akron. 'Because, if you watch sports nowadays, you see tattooed players all the time, right? They're everywhere.'
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In part because of Radevski, hand in hand with TikTok exposure, Sherwood is certain the sports sector of his business is about to change, dramatically. Just days ago, Angelica Radevski posted two TikTok videos about her experience, the first sharing specifics of the Save My Ink Forever process, the second to talk more broadly about grief and recovery.
As the weekend approached, Radevski's postings had accumulated 40 million views. She subsequently has staged a handful of TikTok live episodes, one of which lasted six hours.
'Interest has exploded,' said Sherwood, noting an 'exponential' uptick in inquiries to preserve sports and non-sports tattoos.
Save My Ink Forever, which has preserved tattoos from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Sweden, and the Netherlands, works with funeral homes around the world to harvest the tattoos from the deceased. Once removed, the artwork is placed in a kit, containing a preservative powder placed by Sherwood, and then shipped to Sagamore Hills.
Turnaround time, according to Sherwood, is approximately 90 days, with finished pieces typically framed and placed under museum-grade UV-protective glass. The company also offers 3D mounting for customers interested in, say, preserving a sleeve tattoo just as it appeared on an arm.
Sherwood said he is well aware that the concept of tattoo preservation, and the thought of loved ones holding on to the art of the deceased as cherished keepsakes, often causes a negative 'kneejerk reaction' among those hearing about it for the first time.
'Most of the time,' he said, his words punctuated with a light laugh, 'people that I've talked to, I've kind of maybe swayed them a little bit to seeing our side of the fence.'
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Never expecting the day would come so soon, said Angelica, she and TJ discussed the preservation process just weeks before he died. She knew of Save My Ink Forever, recalling that she first learned about preserving skin some 25 years ago when watching a 'Ripley's Believe It Or Not' episode on TV.
'We talked at length about it,' she recalled. 'And TJ was fine with it. He said, 'Look, Babe, whatever you want … just don't stuff me and stand me up in the living room corner.'
It was son Preston, a diehard Eagles fan, who insisted that his dad's Steelers tattoo be saved.
'That was another neat part of this,' said Angelica. 'He loved his dad, even though they feuded over Steelers and Eagles all the time. So when Preston heard, it was, 'Yay, we're saving T's Steelers tattoo!' '
A tattoo from Steelers fans TJ Radevski, which was preserved by Save My Ink Forever, an Ohio-based company.
Keith Delarosa
The TikTok live episodes often have been emotional and sometimes exhausting for Angelica. People have been eager to talk about the tattoo preservation process, sports, and topics related to losing one's life partner. She tells them to grieve in their own way, at their own pace, and go with what makes them feel best. She and Preston wore Steelers jerseys to TJ's services. She knows some felt that was odd, perhaps disrespectful, but she was convinced it was right … for her, for Preston, and for TJ.
Angelica was delighted, during one TikTok live, when one husband and wife said they would preserve a large portrait of three Steelers players that he has tattooed on his back.
'They showed it to me, it's in black and gray,' said Angelica, 'and it's beautiful.'
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Someone not into sports might not fully understand what saving such a piece might mean.
'That's the thing about sports,' she said. 'It's not about a win or a touchdown. It brings people together and you support each other through win and loss, right? Friends become family, those bonds, that's what it is.'
Perhaps the comment that struck her most, said Angelica, came from a Kansas City fan who, of course, first noted no love of the Steelers.
'But I am sorry for your loss,' added the fan, 'and this [tattoo] is bad ass.'
'I mean, for a Kansas City fan to say that,' Angelica added, 'that's huge.'
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at