He started out just working with wood.

"I learned everything from books," says Tobie Beneli. "It's amazing what you can learn from books."

Now Beneli has easily read more than 200 books on woodworking and its related crafts and technology. Even if Beneli himself has not actually done something, he can explain to an experienced cabinetmaker or carpenter how to do something new or different, and it usually comes out right.

Beneli and his wife, Lin, own Summit Ridge Wood Design on Colorado Highway 184 between Dolores and Mancos. Initially they started a cabinet making business. When a cousin passed in 1997, and the family asked Beneli if he could build them a casket, lots of doors opened, in business, in relationships with Beneli's native people, the Diné (Navajo) and in the couple's philosophy on life.

The Diné do not associate with death easily. Their philosophy centers around a balance with the Earth's cycles. According to information on the San Juan (Utah) School District Web site, dine.sanjuan.k12.ut.us, if a person dies of old age, it shows that they were in harmony with the universe and "the corpse is not dangerous for those living on."

The Web site quotes University of Arizona anthropology professor Trudy Griffin-Pierce as saying, "The all-inclusive nature of the universe means that all forces are integrated - good and evil, natural and supernatural, male and female - into a state of balance and harmony. ... People who become involved in an act that disrupts this balance may be made ill by the forces thereby unleashed."

This partially explains the aversion the Diné have toward death. Tobie and Lin Beneli are very aware of this cultural discomfort with death and have reached out to serve the Diné in a unique way.

Tobie has talked to many Diné medicine men about the journey he happened into beginning with the death of his cousin and the family's request. He had planned on being a cabinet and furniture maker. And yet, he and Lin have discussed this pathway of caskets, death and the comfort they can offer to grieving families and feel it is right.

When they have been confronted by a choice of pathways, the right doors have always seemed to open for them.

"There are a lot of things I could tell you, but don't think I should," Tobie says. "We provide a high quality product at a reasonable price, and we very much appreciate what the funeral homes do."

Summit Ridge Wood Design caskets are usually made with aromatic cedar and are lined with a Pendleton blanket in eight colors, including a nonpatterned white. Lin was persevering in establishing an account with Pendleton specifically for their Southwest casket designs.

Another personal touch the Benelis add is laser-engraved artwork for the inside panel. The caskets can feature artwork of Southwest landscapes, including with American Indian, Diné, Western, cowboy, nature, military and religious motifs.

Caskets are shipped anywhere, via truck to Albuquerque and mostly flown on Delta or United Airlines to places as far away as Texas, California, Minnesota, Virginia and Louisiana.

Their Colorado market is expanding north, with cowboys and ranchers appreciating the distinctive touches of the laser wood art and Pendletons.

The Benelis have developed good relations with Four Corners area and Colorado morticians, who have become aware of the caskets through their customers' requests.

Tobie recalls making a trip to visit funeral homes in Blanding, Utah, and Tuba City, Flagstaff, Winslow and Holbrook, Ariz. Each place he went, he saw grieving Diné families struggling with the dominant society's handling of death.

"One big thing that we always hear is that our product and service makes people feel better," Tobie says. "They always tell us that."

Eighty percent of their casket business is to American Indians, mostly Diné.

Someone needs to do something, he thought to himself. So many people can't afford the funeral costs.

"It just happened," Lin adds. "We did not expect (this venture) to reach the sales figures we have."

Nowadays Tobie reads more books on manufacturing and technology than on the hands-on craft of woodworking.

Lin manages the business end, with communications and marketing, and Tobie manages the shop and the technology.

Three years ago, with the help of Region 9 Economic Development District, they purchased a large Thermwood CNC router and added a new, temporary building.

CNC stands for computer numerical control and refers specifically to a computer "controller" that reads coded instructions and drives the machine tool.

Robotic in nature, these machines have radically changed manufacturing industries since curves are as easy to cut as straight lines and the number of machining steps previously requiring human action has been dramatically reduced.

Controlled directly from files created by computer-aided manufacturing software packages, CNC machines can take a part or assembly directly from design to manufacture without the need for a drafted paper drawing.

Tobie "loves" the router, which has made it possible to add employees and expand his product line.

Summit Ridge Wood Design started in the Beneli garage. In 1993, they added on, adding to their facilities six times altogether.

They are trying to manage the growth of their business, which also produces household and business cabinetry, entertainment centers and bars, signage, plaques and awards, and furniture, in a steady, maintainable way.

The Benelis now have a crew of eight to nine full- and part-time employees. The number fluctuates seasonally. One employee has been with them from almost the beginning, and has been of invaluable assistance.

"The big reason for our growth is because we've had good intentions when we started our business, and we've stuck to them," Tobie says.

He learned his values from his mother, who lived with them before she died at age 93.

"She raised 12 children in a dirt hogan, and made it to Washington, D.C., before she died," Tobie says with great admiration in his voice. "We came here because it felt like home. The older people, our ancestors, tell us that way back they lived in the Mancos area."

He says it is good to give back to the land what you have received from it. His work reflects that respect for the world.

Reach Vila Schwindt at vilas@cortezjournal.com.