Family Honours Briton's Last Wish With Thai Funeral

(16 February) Family of a British man who recently passed away in Thailand has honoured his last wish by arranging a Thai-Buddhist styled funeral for him.

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The body of Mr. Alan Willian Ball, who passed away at 59,  was cremated with traditional Buddhist ceremony yesterday at Wat Khao Kanthama in Sattahip district, Chonburi province.
 
Prior to the cremation, the body of Mr. Ball had been enshrined in a traditional white coffin at his home in the province, flanked with Thai funeral wreaths and a pot of incenses. 
 
The Briton′s Thai wife, Ms. Somphon Ball, also invited 9 monks to the residence and pray for his soul per Buddhist tradition, before a funeral convoy eventually carried Mr. Ball′s body to his cremation. 
 
The funeral was attended by several relatives of the deceased, including Mr. Ball’s nephews and their friends from Britain.
 
 According to Ms. Somphon, Mr. Ball used to be a Christian, but he later adopted Buddhist practices after he moved to Thailand, such as offering food to the monks and participating in ceremonies at Buddhist temples. 
 
Mr. Ball had attended numbers of ceremonies and funerals held in Buddhist style, Ms. Somphon said. She added that Mr. Ball has become so attached to Thai and Buddhist cultures that he asked for his funeral to be held in similar fashion with many Thai people,  if he passed away in Thailand. 
 
The Briton, who was originally from Nottingham, had also instructed his family to store his ashes in the same pagoda with his mother-in-law in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Ms. Somphon said.  
 
 

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