OREM — A benefit car show will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday on the front lawn of the Walker Sanderson Funeral Home and Crematory, 646 E. 800 North. All proceeds are being donated to the American Legion Post #72. The event is free to the public.

While it may be a bit unusual for a funeral home to have a car show, the Walker Sanderson folks are perfectly happy with that branding. In fact, the whole reason they are called a funeral home rather than a mortuary is to make people feel comfortable at their establishment no matter the reason.

The show will include a JDawgs-catered barbecue, live band and free dash plaque to the first 50 entries. The event, which costs $15 an entry and $5 per additional car, will feature all makes, models, rock crawlers and motorcycles.

“Twenty-plus years ago, we had a vision to make the mortuary not so much a mortuary but a community center,” said Tom Sanderson, funeral director.

Sanderson said they wanted to make the funeral home a place where there are good feelings, happy memories and opportunities to share the ambiance of the building and surrounding grounds. The car show fits the bill.

“The American Legion on their own dimes come and honor veterans. About 12 to 15 people show up every time. They fold the flag and formally present it to the family, give a gun salute and play ‘Taps.’ They’ll do that two to three times in a day,” Sanderson said. “We are just trying to find some donations to help them. The car show will bring people in we don’t see every day.”

Sanderson said there will be everything for car enthusiasts, from military vehicles to Ferraris.

In the past, Walker Sanderson has had private parties for weddings, wedding receptions, baby showers and even an Easter Egg Hunt. “We recently had a candlelight vigil for people and families we have serviced in the past six to eight months,” Sanderson said. “A local LDS ward had their choir practice in our chapel on Sunday mornings.”

It’s all about making it a home that provides all of the special memories and ceremonies in life, as well as comfort to families who have experienced a death. If requested, the funeral home will even provide light snacks such as cheese and crackers at viewings.

“It’s a softer approach,” Sanderson said. “We don’t want it to be an anxious moment. We will try to do anything the family requests.”

Sanderson said people are welcome to come and discover what the funeral home can offer. While funerals and viewings take precedent, there are times when the funeral home is available.

“It’s just a different thing to use the grounds for the community,” Sanderson said. “As long as I’ve been in the business, I’ve wanted to make people feel comfortable and not anxious.”

The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization. Focusing on service to veterans, service members and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States.

The Orem group is Post 72. It was chartered on March 18, 1948. They have 84 members of which 24 of them belong to the Honor Guard. These members keep busy with their service year round. They administer Military Rites for deceased veterans at the cemeteries about every 3 days. They cover from Lehi to Provo. The coffin flag is folded and given to the next of kin, the 21-gun salute is rendered and “Taps” is sounded by the Bugler. They sponsor Boy’s State and Girl’s State, where the youth get a firsthand experience of how government operates. Post 72 also sponsors an Oratorical contest to test the youth’s knowledge of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Post 72 participates in a flag exchange at the Orem cemetery for Memorial day and Veteran’s Day. All the flags are exchanged for new ones.

-- Information courtesy of American Legion & Kelly Kirkpatrick