Ted Williams Loses His Head, Literally.

Ted Williams, for those not familiar with the name, was a famous American baseball player from the early to mid-1900s. He is considered to be one of the all-time greatest hitters in history. Ted’s tie to cryonics rests on controversy, because unlike most who visit the cryonics institute, his visit was without consent. Ted William’s son wanted to fulfill his own dream of preserving his father’s remains — something Ted did not explicitly want. Ted would have lost his mind dealing with this ordeal that was determining his resting remains. Unluckily, Ted did get to lose his head, (and) literally, after the legality sided to his son after his passing.

Dying Wish

Ted originally wanted his body cremated when he died. “In 1996 Williams had signed a will stating that he wished to be cremated and his ashes be scattered. . .” but his son wanted his body cryogenically frozen, in hopes “to be able to be together in the future.”

When Ted was nearest to death — years after he had signed the will declaring how he wished to be honored — he decided to grant his son’s wish by allowing him the power of attorney over his net worth, or the legal rights to do as he pleases to his father’s remnants.

Greed

Prior to Ted’s death, a legal document surfaced stating he was on board with being put into biostasis rather than cremation. Where the discrepancy lies is that the document was not only dated years after his will had been written, but supposedly forged around an autograph he signed on blank sheet of paper. It’s important to note that Ted would sign his name differently when autographing over legal documentation, and this document had the autograph styling.

Ted passed away in 2002, and with this document stating he was a-ok with being preserved, his son decided his father was going into biostasis. His son’s obsession over the cryonics movement resulted in his arrogance and Ted’s arrival at the cryonics lab shortly after death. He had the body flown out to Alcor’s facilities for preparation and submersion. This obsession with cryonics spawned from reading literature and speaking to experts in the field, so his father’s timely death was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

Losing It

Now residing at Alcor’s facilities, Ted’s body was being prepped to undergo the preservation process. Where his procedure differs from the norm is after he had been prepared. Normally, the body stays intact with the head. For Ted, his son chose to do an alternative procedure, known as neuropreservation, which is usually reserved for those who are physically impaired or disabled. This alternative is used in hopes that when woken, science and medicine will be able to bring back functionality that’s been missing or been taken away. In Ted’s case, his handicap will skyrocket, because if he wakes in the future his body will no longer have an associated torso affixed.

Neuropreservation, as mentioned, is the removal of a person’s head for individual preservation, and is usually is done with precision, but in this case, the decapitation was done with significantly less. His severed head was also stored in a Cryostar — or a cooler not typically used to permanently house parts. Let’s just say, it’s a very unsuitable preserving bin. Ted’s body and head lay separated alongside his son — who had also passed by this time — and ironically, the only person lawfully able to control Ted’s remnants. What now awaits Ted? But, most importantly, when they wake, who is going to knock the other’s head off for what has happened?