Latest news with #SaveMyInkForever
Boston Globe
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Here's another way to remember your loved ones, by preserving their tattoos after death
'He got that one long before we met,' mused Angelica, speaking via telephone the other day from her hometown of Wheeling, '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.' Advertisement 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 Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up '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. Advertisement '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.' Advertisement 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.' Advertisement 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.' Advertisement 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
Daily Mail
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The stomach-turning way a grieving wife is keeping her husband's memory
A grieving West Virginia wife created a stomach-turning way to remember her husband by framing a piece of his skin that featured a meaningful tattoo. Angelica Radevski, a parent and childbirth educator, chose to preserve her late husband TJ's memory in a truly unique way. 'TJ Radevski was and STILL is the #1 Pittsburgh Steelers fan,' Radevski wrote on Facebook. 'So when he died, our son chose to preserve this tattoo - his favorite one- forever.' Radevski said that the tattoo was chosen out of more than 70 that her husband had tattooed, and her son said: 'This is the one Dad would want.' The framed fragment is her 'husband's real wrinkles I used to trace when we laid in bed.' 'This isn't a replica. You can see his hair, his wrinkles, the ink I kissed goodnight,' she wrote on TikTok. Radevski shared images of herself and her son holding up the keepsake, which featured the piece of skin tattooed with a skull with the Steelers logo and colors. 'We didn't get ashes. We got something we can still touch,' she added. In a TikTok video, Radevski explained that she and her son 'don't think it's weird at all.' 'When my husband passed away unexpectedly, I knew that this is something that we were going to do because we had talked about it.' The grieving widow went to Save My Ink Forever, the only company in the world that offers this kind of keepsake service. Save My Ink Forever worked with the mortician to extract the skin and keep the tattoo intact before it was sent to the company in Ohio. 'It took about 90 days,' Radevski said in a video online. 'When they showed us his tattoo, it was indescribable as to what that felt. It wasn't just one feeling. It wasn't just an emotion.' The skin cannot be touched as it is now encased behind framed glass, but Radevski said she still felt that it helped keep a 'physical' connection to her husband. 'This has helped me in ways that I didn't know that I needed help, in places that I thought I needed it. I can't tell you what this journey so far has been for me, for my son, for our family, for our friends,' she continued. Radevski said she has shared her journey online to help spread awareness about this type of keepsake. 'TJ has now helped over 50 million people know this is an option when planning the end of our story,' she wrote on Facebook. Radevski's husband passed away 'unexpectedly' on March 21 earlier this year at 55 years old. TJ is remembered as someone with 'unmatched energy and a heart bigger than any stadium.' 'TJ's booming, contagious laugh could fill a room and make you feel like you belonged,' his obituary said. 'A die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan, TJ's loyalty to the black and gold ran deep. That same passion spilled over into the years he spent coaching his son Preston's football and wrestling teams. 'He wasn't just a coach - he was a mentor, a motivator, and the loudest supporter on the sidelines... TJ was the friend you could always count on, the guy who'd hype you up and show up for you no matter what.' Radevski wrote that TJ was not just her husband but her 'best friend.'
