Will - but no way - for tattoos

CAMERON BURNELL

LAST HOPE: New Plymouth mother Julie Fowler has been denied the chance to grant her son Jono's last wish he was cremated before she learnt he wanted to preserve his tattoos.

LOVED ART: Jonathan Fowler's Aries tattoo represented his star sign. He also had a Taurus tattoo, representing his ascendent sign, a Playboy bunny and an Export Gold emblem.

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A grieving New Plymouth mother is horrified to discover her son has been cremated before an unusual request in his will could be carried out.

Jonathan Fowler, 27, wanted his tattoos removed and preserved for posterity.

Among his prized works of body art were a Playboy bunny from his university days, an Aries sign, a Taurus sign and a DB Export beer logo.

Mr Fowler was the number one collector of Export Gold memorabilia in the country and was even cremated in an Export Gold coffin.

The unusual tattoo request was the only one the cystic fibrosis sufferer and double lung transplant patient had left for his family.

However, Mr Fowler's mother, Julie Fowler, didn't know about his final wish until she read a copy of the will lying among her son's things after his death at Christmas.

She is now disgusted and angry with the Public Trust Office which omitted to mention the request when she contacted it before Mr Fowler's funeral.

"Those tattoos were special to him – there wasn't a lot of things he could do but these he could," Mrs Fowler said.

She knew her son really meant the request because making a will would have been a huge effort, as at the time he had to carry a breathing tube and air bottle with him at all times, she said.

"This request wasn't for anyone else but Jono. He was the one kid we couldn't do much for and the one thing we could do, they've taken away. We only had one chance and we can't even exhume him."

Mrs Fowler said she was shocked at the attitude of the Public Trust employee she'd talked to, who only wanted to talk about how gruesome it was and how she could get copies of the tattoos instead.

"It's no different to having your loved one's ashes in the home. And that's not the point anyway."

She wanted to know what the Public Trust would do to ensure a similar thing didn't happen again. "We cannot change what's happened and we don't want money. Although, they should write a big fat cheque to the cystic fibrosis association, that would make me feel better.

"I just wish I'd gone into his room earlier and found the will."

A Public Trust spokesperson did not wish to comment yesterday as the matter was under inquiry. A Public Trust employee would meet with the family today to discuss the incident and had sent a letter of apology.

- © Fairfax NZ News