When Angelica Radevski lost her husband earlier this year, she didn’t settle for a framed photo or a memory box. She preserved a piece of him—literally.
The 35-year-old nurse from West Virginia made the decision to have a section of her late husband TJ’s tattooed skin surgically removed after his death, then framed and displayed in their home. “We had talked about it before,” she said in a TikTok video that’s been viewed nearly 30 million times. “I knew we were going to do this.”
The tattoo they chose to save was a full-color Pittsburgh Steelers helmet sleeve, complete with skull art and TJ’s favorite black and gold. It was the first major tattoo he ever got, and one his 10-year-old son, Preston, loved most. After TJ died unexpectedly at 55, Preston made the final call: “This is Dad.”
Widow Had Her Husband’s Tattoo Cut Off His Corpse and Framed It as Art
With the help of Save My Ink Forever—an Ohio-based company that specializes in preserving tattooed skin for display—a mortician outlined and removed the section from TJ’s right arm before cremation. It was shipped, treated, and returned 90 days later in a dark wood and glass frame. The preserved skin still holds his hair, wrinkles, and every detail of the ink.
“This isn’t a replica,” Angelica posted. “You can see his hair, his wrinkles, the ink I kissed goodnight.”
Some viewers were moved. Others were disturbed. Comparisons to horror movies and serial killers followed, but Angelica stands by the choice. “Just because it’s not what you want, you don’t have to make me feel bad about it,” she told People.
For her and her son, it’s not a macabre souvenir—it’s a tangible connection. “We feel him here a lot, spiritually and energetically,” she said. “But this is that piece that we really, really needed. When we want to know he’s here, we can hold the frame, and it does so much more than a picture.”
She’s now using her platform to talk about grief, end-of-life planning, and how families can prepare for the unthinkable. “Why don’t we start making it normal—and not so ugly—to talk about death?” she said.
It’s unconventional. It’s intimate. And for Angelica, it’s exactly what her husband would’ve wanted. Personally, I think it’s a beautiful idea.
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