Planning for Cremation
Posted on May 29, 2020
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- Choose a cremation provider.
- Decide on a “closing” ceremony.
- Choose a final resting place.
Start with the end. Where will your cremated remains “rest?” On average, a cremated human body will be reduced to about five pounds of coarse “ash”. There are three general choices for resting places and a variety of options within each choice.
- Ashes can be kept by a family member.
- Buried or permanently kept in a columbarium niche.
- Scattered.
Very few people really “don’t have anybody”. Friends are the family we choose, and then there is the family. Most of us are deeply connected to at least one other human being. These are the people who will need some time to process their loss of you.
- A funeral service (with or without a religious service) can be held before the cremation takes place.
- A memorial service occurs after the cremation takes place. It may or may not include a religious service.
- Either a funeral or a memorial service can be formal, informal, or very informal. Either can be held pretty much anywhere.
Funeral homes either provide cremation at the funeral home or coordinate transportation from the place of death to the cremation facility. They can also help you choose a final resting option and coordinate the closing ceremony. Most funeral homes have a person on staff who will answer all your questions and help determine which options work best for you and the people who are important to you. Amazingly enough, this is a free service. A cremation society or direct cremation provider will take care of the cremation.
You can:
- Take advantage of your local funeral home’s planning service (no charge).
- Sign up for a cremation society and leave everything else to those who love you.
Some obituaries are simply informative. They let the neighborhood know when someone in their community has passed, inform them about when and where the funeral will be held, and detail the decedent’s family who will be grieving their loved one. These are the most basic versions of an obituary. And while there’s nothing wrong with writing one that’s on the plainer side, there’s a reason why these aren’t the obituaries that go viral.
We know that organ donation has the power to give new life to people in need, but just how does it work? The process starts when you sign up, but the actual donation portion happens after you die — and it has to happen fast. So, what does organ donation look like?
Mother’s Day is celebrated in 40 countries around the world. But, getting it started was not a slam dunk. Having a day just for moms was the brainchild of one Anna Jarvis, an American peace activist. When Anna’s mother died in 1905, she began lobbying the United States Congress to designate a single day as Mother’s Day. Although she was never successful with Congress, by 1911 all the states in the United States had embraced the concept of Mother’s Day. Finally, in 1914 Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation making the second Sunday in May officially Mother’s Day.
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By donating your body, you’re making a difference in death. Medical researchers rely on whole body donation to do everything from testing new medical devices to studying diseases to find potential cures. Donation services are always looking for people who are willing to become whole-body donors.
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When you think about the process of burying someone who has passed on, you’re likely familiar with a few terms. You probably know what a casket is for, what it’s made out of, and where it goes. You might understand a bit about the embalming process and how a body is prepared to be laid to rest. But do you know what a burial vault is? It’s a term that many people are unaware of, but it provides support for the deceased and is becoming more and more common, especially in certain areas.
It’s better to scatter your loved one’s remains either on private property that you own or on public land. When it comes to your property, what you do with it is your business. With public land and waterways, local authorities will be able to answer any questions you have to be sure that you are scattering your loved one’s ashes in an ethical, environmentally conscious way. Give your loved one a goodbye in a beautiful location, knowing that you’re not doing harm.
