It was a dying Canadian man’s wish that the tattoos that covered much of his body should outlive him.
Chris Wenzel of Saskatoon hoped his children, and even maybe his grandchildren, would one day be able to appreciate the intricate designs.
“He fell in love with art and had such a passion for tattoos,” his wife, Cheryl Wenzel, told the Canadian Press. “He would say he was a slave to the needle because he loved to tattoo so much.”
And in his final months, Wenzel, a well-known tattoo artist, discovered an Ohio-based company that could potentially make his wish a reality.
When he died at the end of October, at the age of 41, Cheryl quickly contacted Save My Ink Forever, which specializes in removing and preserving tattooed skin.
Operated by father-son team Michael and Kyle Sherwood, the company provides tools, directions and paperwork to ensure the skin is carefully removed and preserved shortly after death. They then use a propriety process to preserve the designs.
In Wenzel’s case, the estimated fee for preserving the many tattoos which covered much of his upper torso, exceeded C$80,000 ($60,635).
“I don’t care what it takes. I’m going to get this done for him,” she told the Canadian Press.
Typically, Sherwood’s company works with small tattoos. But with Wenzel, Sherwood travelled to Saskatoon to personally oversee the job which he called “groundbreaking” in an interview with the Canadian Press.
Sherwood was able to remove seven distinct pieces of art from Wenzel, including from the chest, back, arms and legs.
Sherwood, a trained mortician, won’t preserve tattoos from the face or genitals, nor will they work on any tattoos that aren’t designed by professionals. To date, the company has successfully preserved more than 100 designs.
The family plans to present the preserved tattoos to the public at an upcoming tattoo expo in the spring.
Cheryl Wenzel also told Chris before he died that she also intended to preserve her own tattoos, according to CTV News.
“I know one day I’ll be hanging here with my husband,” she said.
