You'll be able to visit Jim Feneis’s cars at the Idle Ridge Car Museum before long. Sometimes, a car can be a lot more than just transportation. For the deeply afflicted gearhead, an emotional attachment to an automobile is nothing out of the ordinary. Earlier this week, the Internet recently rediscovered images of Chevy Corvette fanatic and Minnesota businessman Jim Feneis, who chose to be displayed in his C1-gen 'Vette during his 2023 funeral—which, naturally, drew a lot of strong reactions.
While the images from Feneis’s funeral are circulating around social media at the moment due to a Reddit post that was picked up the likes of Corvette Blogger, the funeral itself happened years ago; according to a Facebook post from Miller-Carlin Funeral Home in St Cloud, Minnesota, their work with the Feneis family took place in April 2023.
View Price on AmazonBut as it turns out, Feneis’s love of his Corvette wasn’t singular. Not only was he reportedly responsible for planning this whole funeral, he had bigger plans for his collection of vehicles beyond his death, setting up the James Feneis Charitable Foundation in an effort to transform his two-story garage into a full-blown museum. Feneis took a great amount of joy in sharing his passion with the local community during his life, and did not want his passing to put an end to that.
While it isn’t officially open yet, Feneis’s dream did come to fruition: The Idle Ridge Car Museum in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, is dedicated to Jim, featuring his collection of cars, vintage memorabilia, a 1950s-inspired diner, and even a car wash. It looks like a beautiful little car museum, and it even offers private events for smaller groups as well as plans for hours dedicated specifically to the public.
It’s easy to look at pictures of a deceased man using his 1960 Corvette as a casket and think it's strange. I think that’s a fair assessment. That said, I can fully get behind someone’s love for all things automotive being pushed to its limits, and the fact that Jim wanted to ensure that the next generation had a chance to appreciate these rolling pieces of history is all the better.
Source: roadandtrack.com
