Going out in style: Fundera directors discuss themes

ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY - Golf clubs are propped upright and a basketball hoop hangs nearby. A recliner sits in front of a television set showing sports highlights. <br> <br> The room comes with one more amenity for the sports fan: a casket. <br> <br> Funeral directors say ``sets&#39;&#39; tailored to the interests of anglers, film buffs, school teachers and others have gained popularity as a method of giving a personal touch to viewings. <br> <br> Silvy Edmonds Cotton, president of Perpetua, told The Press of Atlantic City, New Jersey, ``We really bought into the idea that funerals should be a meaningful experience reflective of a person&#39;s life. This helps them feel the person is really there.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Perpetua, a Tucson, Arizona, firm that acquires funeral homes, showed examples of its sets at the annual convention of the National Funeral Directors And Morticians Association, which runs through tomorrow. <br> <br> The Atlanta-based association represents about 2,300 members nationwide, mostly black funeral directors. <br> <br> Perpetua started creating sets two years ago. Earlier versions consisted of a living room furnished with personal items from the deceased, but the sets have grown more elaborate. <br> <br> One, titled ``Big Momma&#39;s Kitchen,&#39;&#39; had cabinets and a stove, table and chairs positioned on a linoleum floor. <br> <br> Another offered a fishing scene with a pole cast into a pond stocked with goldfish and sign that said ``Gone Fishing.&#39;&#39;