The last dying wish of Vera Smith, 88, is fulfilled as a horse-drawn hearse carries her coffin to her burial site in Windsor, Ont., Tuesday. (CBC)

It wasn't quite the six white horses she had wished for, but the two Belgian horses pulling an old-fashioned carriage hearse were an impressive sight Tuesday as they carried 88-year-old Vera Smith to the Windsor Grove Cemetery.

Smith is survived by 9 children, 39 grandchildren, and so many great grandchildren, even the family has lost count.

"She told us ever since we were little that she wanted six white horses and a carriage. And I think it just goes back [to where] she was born in Maidstone [20 kilometres southeast of Windsor]," said Sherry Gibson, Smith's youngest daughter.

"So maybe back in [those] days this is how they were buried, and it always stuck in her mind. She always wanted that no matter what," Gibson said.

The funeral director said he's been in the business for 35 years, and this is the first time he's orchestrated such a special wish.

"I think this is just absolutely wonderful, just absolutely wonderful. But the nice thing is I know there was a dying request made, and it's being honoured today," said Allan MacKenzie, of Janisse Bros.-Marcotte Funeral Home.

The family said Vera Smith was a character, and a woman who took good care of her family.

She was predeceased by her husband Frank.