RESTING PIECES; MORTUARY KIT SERVICES TOYS' DIGITAL DEATH.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

First came virtual pets - computerized plastic toys that beep when they need food, love or attention.

Next came ``virtual angels'' - pets that come back to life as winged cherubs to placate children traumatized when their digital bird or dog or cat ``dies'' of neglect.

Now Earline Reeves of Quartz Hill has come up with a proper way to bring closure when a virtual pet meets its ultimate demise - a virtual-pet mortuary, featuring custom-made caskets and personalized tombstones.

``These are not coffins, they are caskets. There's a big difference,'' Reeves said. ``Coffins are like pine boxes. These are all satin inside.''

Reeves's background as a mortician's daughter might have helped her hit on the idea. After all, she has treasured memories of taking naps as a child in satin-lined ``floor models.''

``I told my parents, `Take my bed away, I want to sleep in one of these,' '' said Reeves, who is in her 50s and worked 29 years as a telecommunications consultant. ``Everyone should try it. It's really fun. That probably explains why I like satin sheets today.''

Virtual pet caskets, 5-1/2 inches long in wood, are covered with black or white taffeta-like material and lined with cotton batting and white satin. Each costs $10.95.

The $8.95, half-pound gray tombstone is made from a weatherproof, cement-like material called Hydrocal. It comes with a ground stake for backyard burials, or without for a makeshift mausoleum, Reeves said. Each tombstone is ``inscribed'' with the deceased pet's name and an appropriate epitaph.

Burial packages are available for $17.95 and include the casket, tombstone and a booklet titled ``How to Conduct a Virtual Pet Funeral,'' which offers instructions for a nondenominational burial service and a fill-in-the-blanks eulogy.

Reeves and about a half-dozen of her friends are making their products in their Antelope Valley homes and small shops.

Reeves hit upon the idea of virtual-pet funerals after hearing about someone in England who was selling burial plots for the half-dollar-size trinkets.

``I thought, in the U.S., they've got to have caskets and tombstones. We'll do it in a classy way,'' Reeves said. ``In England, they were just going to a plot of land, like going to a cemetery to dig a hole and drop a pet into it. For those in America, here's a beautiful casket and tombstone.''

And Reeves should know from caskets.

Reeves also is the creator of the Pet Computer - a sort of Pet Rock for the '90s. The one-pound model computer comes with cute sayings printed on cardboard inserts that owners can slip behind the monitor's Plexiglas screen.

Reeves, who moved to the Antelope Valley in 1980, said she stopped her consulting work because she wanted a less hectic lifestyle.

``I just wanted to get out of the high-tech fast lane and slow down a bit and start enjoying life,'' Reeves said. ``I just started inventing these, and I'm having a ball.''

Reeves said she thinks business for her virtual pet mortuary will be good. At least it will lessen the stress experienced by youngsters preoccupied by the responsibility of pressing buttons every 20 seconds and by their adult parents forced to baby-sit virtual pets for their children.

``We've all become so serious. We have to lighten up. I'm here to tell everyone to slow down and take time to laugh. The pets are so serious, and kids are so traumatized,'' Reeves said.

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PHOTO (color) Mortician's daughter Earline Reeves shows off her latest invention - satin-lined caskets and personalized tombstones for virtual pets.

Jeff Goldwater/Daily News