The burial house constructed by Edgehill Small for his first wife, Justela, in Joe Hut near Wait-A-Bit, Trelawny. Edgehill's third wife, Beverly, who lives in the main house on the property (partially hidden), buried her husband with Justela, as he had requested. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

With red carpeting, clean white curtains, glass-panelled windows, an exquisite red-tile rooftop and nicely painted, immaculate interior and exterior walls, it is clear that the structure Edgehill Small built to house the grave of his first wife was no cheap undertaking.

"Make sure unuh sing Nearer My God to Thee;" "Cremate me and scatter my ashes at sea;" "Bury me in my wedding dress;" "Nuh bodda have nuh nine-night." These are a few of the many odd requests people make regarding how they want to be handled after death - requests made by souls approaching 'life's final common denominator'.

Justela Small could hardly have imagined, however, when she told her husband her last wish - to be buried at home, in a prominent position where others could see and remember her - that he would have gone to such great lengths to honour her request.

"Him and the first wife buy the land to come from England and build, but when them start fi pack up and come out, she pass away," Beverly Small, Edgehill's third wife explained.

In light of the sacrifices they had made to purchase the land together, and Justela's request, Edgehill built the wondrous burial house in his wife's honour, near the front of their home in the community of Joe Hut, near Wait-A-Bit in Trelawny.

Burial request

"Why this deh here so is that before them mek the house, she say she want to bury pon the land, right in front ... she nuh waan guh dung inna the bush, or inna nuh gully," Beverly explained.

As if the first burial house was not enough of a spectacle, Edgehill also built a similar house for his second wife, Inez Small, a few years later, having also outlived her. Inez's burial home is located in St Catherine.

Edgehill died last December, at 74, but not before detailing to his third wife how he wanted to be buried. He made it clear that he wanted to be buried in the house where he had buried his first wife.

It has now become Beverly's duty to clean the carpet, dust the cobwebs from the gravestones, and do all to maintain the burial home. It is a duty she carries out diligently, in loving respect for her deceased husband.

"It nuh really bodda me. When me ready, me pull it and mi go in and dust it down and keep it," Beverly said.

It seems that, had Beverly not been naturally inclined to care for the house, an after-death encounter with Edgehill would have been encouragement enough.

"One of the time it did short a two pieces (of curtain - one where the top of Edgehill's coffin was laid, and another piece where his feet were) - and mi dream him and say him head leave outta door, so me get (the curtains) dem and put dem in," she said, before laughing at the thought of it all.

andrew.wildes@gleanerjm.com