Forever Showcased
In a poignant testament to their extraordinary lives, the bodies of the Bunker brothers were carefully prepared for a unique form of immortality before being released to their grieving family. Medical experts meticulously recorded the twins’ physical connection, capturing the nuances of their shared tissues on film. They took steps to preserve their conjoined livers within a formaldehyde-filled vessel, ensuring that this aspect of their anatomy would endure beyond their passing.
The desire to commemorate the Bunker brothers extended into the realm of artistry, as renowned sculptor John Casani was commissioned to craft a lifelike plaster representation of the twins’ upper bodies and faces.
This homage to the brothers now stands as a somber exhibit at The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, a place where their legacy persists in a state of eternal preservation.
Despite the spectacle their lives had often become, marked by relentless scrutiny and public spectacle, the brothers were finally granted dignity in death. In 1917, their remains were tenderly transported back to their native North Carolina. There, amidst the familiar tranquility of White Plains Baptist Church’s cemetery just beyond Mount Airy, a private ceremony offered solace to their family as the Bunker brothers were laid to rest, at last finding peace beneath the gentle southern sky..