My parents were cremated and their ashes are in the same hole in the ground under the English ivy in a small, enclosed garden at the church where we worshiped for decades. No one in the family lives in the same state any more, but we all trooped up to the old church. I think it a bit romantic knowing that their ashes are together.
I'm hoping that MD gets either a composting facility or aquamation in the next 15 years, as those are my first and 2nd choices. There are green burials here, which is my third choice.
Saul and his sons were burned in the Bible, I'm not afraid of cremation, would somebody pray for me today, my triglycerides are at 810, dangerously high, after all that I've done in the last year to lower my triglycerides, they were actually at 300 in February, God bless you all, God bless you Julie
@@bridgetlennon4154 God bless you Bridget, thank you very much, may the good Lord bless you and your family, Ireland is one of the most beautiful places in the world to me, all I can see is the pictures, I live in North Georgia in the United States
My parents bought a double depth plot ages ago when planning their estate. They’re still alive in their mid 90s. A terrible little piece of me hopes my dad goes in first so my mom isn’t under him for eternity. I know morbid! But that’s where we’re at. I want to be cremated and scattered to the wind. I love fresh air. 😊 Thanks always for your frankness, Julie!
I'm totally confused by your comment. Why would it matter whether your mom was under your dad or vice versa? Are you trying to say that your dad always bullied and dominated your mom? That isn't a foregone conclusion that we can just assume without you explicitly stating that. In my family, my mom always bulled my dad and my wife always bullies me.
In the State of MD the Department of health allows you to donate your whole body for medical studies. Go online and download the forms and complete and send. Simple and straight forward.
We're doing a cremation because the family plot is in another state. The important thing I just arranged for my parent is the mortuary for cremation services. This gives us a 24/7 phone number to call for collection of the remains so we're not stressing with mom lying in a bed in limbo. One thing I learned was the mortuary I chose does its own cremations. Not all mortuaries do this, but instead farm that service out to another provider necessitating transportation between facilities. I like knowing my loved one has one trip to the mortuary and that's it.
This is great advice. My dad had planned/paid for his “pre needs” funeral & burial in his 30’s, thankfully. When he died at the age of 72, all I had to do was take the paperwork to the funeral home where he’d planned/paid, decide on songs to be played at the service, and give them a photo for the printed obit. Daddy made a very difficult process as easy as possible for me❤️ I want to do the same for myself so that my child doesn’t have to make these final decisions and also pay, which can be a financial hardship.
My mom has a prepaid funeral. We helped her pick out her favorite casket and she went over all her funeral plans with the funeral director. When the time came, we could mourn our loss and not be bothered with all that work. It was such a relief that we're planning on doing it for ourselves.
Want my ashes spread over spring bulbs so I can come back as part of daffodils and 🌷 tulips. I know my spirit will be in the hereafter but I just like the thought of my remains fertilizing flowers.
Cremains are just ground bones that didn't burn. They are actually harmful to plants, so you wouldn't want to be scattered in a small area, like a garden bed. If scattered over a wide area (like a large lawn), it's less harmful, especially if it's watered a lot.
Cremation. . . . .In 2006 my wife and I went to her doctor . . . .After a long , extensive consultation she found out her condition was terminal. . .We came out of the office. Got in the car as I turned the key on she told me to drive straight to the local mortuary which had a crematory where we bought 2 cremations. In California, this is an insurance which is good at any crematory in the USA. The body does not have to be shipped back. . . . At that time, the cost was $1420 each. . . .I cannot say what today's cost would be. The $1420 covered everything, including an urn. . . .nothing extravagant. . . . . .Peace of mind.! ! ! !!! Neither of us wanted a funeral. Others could gather on their own for a "remembrance" if they wanted.
@@wolfe6220 That seems to be in the price ballpark- - -adjusted for inflation. . . .and . . . .if it includes everything. Thank you for your reply . . . .It helps others to gauge the cost difference with the burial industry's sales to price/profit tactics.
Mother did green burial and the location was a nature preserve that geologically had very deep water table, only flat markers are allowed. Everything has to be biodegradable thus shroud and no jewelry. Wild flowers everywhere.
I alway"s appreciate all of your video's.Lost my Mom to dementia last April and your vids helped alot.I"m going to see about planning my funeral this week,I really want cremation but as a christian,I"ve seen stuff on the internet that say"s might not be a good idea but the God I believe in wouldn"t care,so I"m still leaning towards that.
@@markrunyon5524 You might be reading about “the rapture” which is an evangelical interpretation of “the second coming”. Many Christian religions want deceased bodies to be intact for this ‘uplifting to heaven’. Believe as you wish, of course. I’m not here to evangelize. But I can’t imagine my god caring about anything but my soul. Or yours 😊🌸
I'm a Christian also & plenty of my older Christian friends chose cremation for when the time came. I'm hopefully donating my body to a nearby medical school when I pass away & after they've had my body for 5 years, they cover the cost of cremation. Then I'd like my family to spread my ashes in a field of horses as I'm a huge horse lover. I agree with you, it's not gonna stop God fulfilling His plan in any way. There are plenty of Christians on both sides of the fence.
With you being a christian( invited Jesus into your lifetime) then it's your spirit that goes to Heaven. A new body too. Christians who die through burning still have their new body in heaven. This earthly body is finished.
My husband was cremated and then buried in a spot very special to him: then when our son also died of cancer 7 years later he asked to be cremated and buried with his dad in the plot.
Thanks for the video. I have made my arrangements, I had a sales person asked what I wanted to be done at the viewing .. when I made my final arrangements. Type of casket. My brother will help with final arrangements. This way they don't have to make plans. I will be buried at Spring Grove cemetery. The first time I drove through Spring Grove this is a well kept cemetery
This is so helpful. It remains a "taboo" topic in so many families, still. For people who don't know how to start the conversation in their families, this is an excellent video to share. Thank you so much, Julie, for what you!! ❤
I'm in New Brunswick, Canada. In the field north of my house is a random pile of rocks. We figured out that it's the grave of my four-greats grandpa, Isaac Cook (1757 - 1828), a farmer and Revolutionary War veteran who built this house in 1800. Obviously a home burial. It's nice knowing this ancestor is just a few minutes' walk from the house. Turns out, home burial is legal here in Canada (though if I can get a spot in the cemetery just south of my place--yes, I live next door to a cemetery--I will)--and so is green burial. However, at this point, I choose cremation: not the greenest option, but greener than traditional burial as well as easily accessible and cheaper (and funerals are expensive--indeed, we have a cost of living crisis in Canada, and CTV, one of the major networks, recently did a story about how the cost of dying has also gone up), and the body will decompose, anyway.
I am planning for the green burial also. My Brother died this summer rather unexpectedly. He was only 64 but with some health problems. He did not plan for his burial and left it on his son and our Dad to do it. He was cremated and his ashes were buried on top of our Mom. We had a lovely memorial service for him. After my Mom died of Cancer my Dad sold his home, and moved into an assisted living/nursing. It’s the type that will care for him according to his needs. It will also do his hospice care. He made funeral arrangements quite a while ago before my Mom even died. All we have to do is contact them when the time comes.
I have liked the idea of the green burial. The fact that you are not embalmed and you decompose faster into the soil works for me. I hear so many new coffins that are: bulletproof, waterproof, seals up nice and tight which can cause issues with the coffins to explode when the gasses start to build up from the slow decomposition. I also understand that the green burial does have a cheaper cost when the caskets are in excess of 10,000. If you look at it, we came from the soil, so we go back and so the best way to go and fertilize it is the green way.
my favorite is a green burial as well, as for a viewing of the body you can still have that but you would have what is called an identification viewing (only for immediate family with most funeral homes) where the body is laid on a cot and the family gets some private time to say goodbye. you can also have an ID viewing for cremation as well if your having a memorial service (urn present) instead of being embalmed and having a traditional viewing.
My parents are buried side by side; my sister was murdered, and was cremated and her ashes buried on my parent's graves. That's my plan, but I purchased plots for my kids and grandchildren.
Same with my parents r side by side with my sisters cremains on top my sis wouldn’t of wanted it any other way ❤it’s easier for me I buy flowers for all 3 in one place 👍
My paternal grandmother had a family plot, and that's where her and my grandfather were buried. They had traditional viewings and burials complete with a vault. My maternal grandparents went with a more "green" burial and got buried in pine boxes. For my grandmother, we had a closed casket funeral mass, and for my grandfather, a small service at the cemetery chapel. For me, I don't even want a funeral. Have a party instead! I don't want to be "buried" either, I want to be turned into a tree.🌳
My Sister had a green burial. She was in an automobile accident so she needed a pine box. Absolutely nothing unnatural can be buried no stone. So expensive it was $15,000
Thanks for doing this video. I started to look into this a couple of years ago when I was fighting a very lethal cancer with the odds stacked against me. I did manage to escape the Grim Reaper this time, though I know he/she is never far away. You didn't mention this option, which is sort of a hybrid of those you did, but the most attractive alternative to me is a natural burial, no embalming, but in a wooden casket with no vault, which is very much in line with the traditional method. It is environmentally friendly, but still is consistent with traditional expectations of having a casket to protect from immediate decomposition and corruption of the body.
In a National Cemetery husband and wife can be buried together, Head stone has each person's dates. That's what we had decided to do. It's so much cheaper for families, the burial for the Military member is with military honors. The graves are always kept up and there is no charge to the family for it. I have recently learned about green burials, I'm interested and after talking with my husband he's interested too. No chemicals, a natural return to the earth, and less stress for the surviving children. Thanks for the video. I'll share it with our friends.
My husband is in cyrpt burial. My Father, Mother and Husband are waiting for me. Crypt holds 4 bodies. I had my husband in closed casket with ceremony at funeral home and then to cemetary. We have 4. I had to have my husbands body flown from NC to MA. He passed at home and I had all plans arranged. I have my paperwork all down and will do the same thing I had for my husband.
@@sharonbull4483 My parents did this and it made things so much easier for us, knowing what they wanted and having it pre-arranged made a difficult time much easier for myself and my siblings.
When my 3-year-old son passed, I chose a double-depth plot so he could be buried with my dad, who had passed 10 years earlier- the two most important people in my life. It brings me great comfort knowing they are together, not only in heaven but also here on earth.
If possible I want to die out in nature, near a river, deep in the forrest, looking at the blue sky one more time, just letting my body be recycled back to nature
For those of you who are interested, there's a channel here on UA-cam called Are You Dying to Know. One of the two ladies (she's the mortician) filmed herself doing a burial at sea with the deceased person & some of their family. It's somber, but very informative.
@ArwenNMyrtlesMom we chose a cardboard casket for my grandfather for environmental and budget reasons. It's exterior was lovely blue fabric. They decompose quickly. His church cemetery required a casket, otherwise we would have chosen a green burial.
I have already made arrangements for my body to be donated to the decomposition research facility at Texas State University. My family knows this and knows where to find the paperwork. Once the research is complete, my bones will go into their permanent collection. Can you tell I'm a teacher?
I have already have my funeral paid for and I have my 2 burial plots I have had them for many years.....ii think it's best to be prepared... but that is my opinion
Cremation is actually quite bad for the environment. Learned from the fabulous Caitlin Doughty, a very popular mortician. She doesn't post many videos anymore, but she is fantastic.
My wife & I have decided to go for shroud burial in the Colorado Burial Preserve - which is designated as a nature preserve, meaning it will never be developed. We will return to the earth naturally. We had long favored cremation but knew of problems with cremains. We really encourage people to look into green burial option, and if in Colorado, contact Colorado Burial Preserve.
Yes that is a option but with some risk. It comes down to need at the time of your death. If medical schools have what they need at that time. They will turn you down and your family will have to make other arrangements. So have a back up plan.
There are some wonderful morticians with youtube channels where a person can learn alot. There is the "water cremation" as well as natural burial. There is the pod with a tree. There are memory stones, jewelry, and glassware options with the cremains as well. Some faith traditions have guidelines to follow when it comes to death care. There might be health code regulations as well. If there is no embalming, the body must be buried within so many hours. Whatever the choices, it's best to make the arrangements ahead of time to lessen the stress on those left behind. I have wirked with countless morticians. Everyone of them has been kind and understanding.
In California, if you want to bury a body on private land, check with the municipal or county zoning department to find out whether you can establish a family cemetery (if you live in a rural area). Friends of mine have several family members buried on the property under a giant oak tree in Cazadero on a ranch that was purchased in the 1930's and passed down through the generations. You just need to go through all the paperwork and permits.
Before I found out I was sick and very mortal even though I might die I did not want my body destroyed but now I am sick I really don't care I even tell my son do not pay out on an expensive coffin just a £99 cardboard box I accept now I am the sum of my memories or soul which has now gone But before I did not want to get roasted now I just don't care
While my wife was on hospice we talked about this and decided together to get side-by-side plots at a little cemetery that she liked. She is now in hers and mine is there waiting for when I join her. I know it's just our physical bodies that our souls no longer inhabit but it's still a comfort to visit her grave and know we'll be together there for our kids.
Consider this option: After one dies and is cremated, have their ashes put into a crater on the Moon and/or Mars to help enrich the soil so that vegetation can be grown to help 'life itself' to continue on beyond this Earth. Plus, what better 'headstone' than the Moon and/or Mars itself where basically everyone could see it? Plus, the 'burial costs' could help fund the space program. Pets and other critters could have it done as well. Consider also a triple crater, (a crater inside a crater inside yet another crater). The lower crater could eventually be where water could collect. The middle crater could eventually be where 'land creatures' live. The upper crater could eventually help hold in an atmosphere. Not many triple craters, first come, first served.
You are lucky to have that option in the US. I am in Australia and really really want to be composted but we are yet to get this option happening here.
Good information for sure but you didn't mention another new burial method which is called Composting. It originated in Seattle, WA I believe but has or is being used in other states. One company is called Earth Funeral and another is called Recompose. I've never liked the embalming/burial in a box idea and cremation just seems too violent and uses a lot of energy. But composting seems like a more natural and organic way to dispose of our physical vessels. Check it out - my husband and I are probably going to make our plans for this.
My daughter, a doctor, has donated her body to Humanity Gifts Registry to be used to educate future doctors and sciencetists. Afterwards her remains will be place in a special urn with her/your choice of tree, bush or flower to be planted wherever brings you joy.
My husband and I visited one of the Funeral Homes in our city back in 2013, when we both purchased the cremation package. This included transportation to the crematorium, no casket or viewing or funeral service. Well, my husband passed away on Father's Day, 2024, and when I went to the Funeral Home to take care of the final details (ordering the death certificates, obituary, and disposition of the cremains), I was not prepared for the disposition of his cremains part! After a little discussion, I learned that the Home owned a parcel of land that is part of a cemetery, and if I wanted, I could allow them to scatter his ashes there. Not only did I say yes to that, but because I am now completely alone, I made arrangements for them to do the same for me. They looked up my contract, filled out the paperwork, had me sign, and I have now taken care of the disposition of my cremains. My brother lives in California, and my sister lives in Hawaii, while I am in Arkansas. We are all in our 70s and not in the best of health, so I am now trying to make arrangements where everything can be taken care of electronically so neither of them will be forced to have to travel to Central Arkansas to take care of my final affairs. One advantage of the electronic age is at least going to prove helpful for my family. Oh, and none of us have children. My brother had a son who "died suddenly" almost two years ago now, and we were never close. It's strange to be in this predicament, yet here I am. At least I know that the Funeral Home will take care of my body without needing to have someone show up in person to take care of things.
Well actually their are sever types of green burials. You can be buried in cloth, cloth with a wicker type casket, They encapsule you in a biodegradable pod, with a tree. Still more have green burial where your body is turned into soil. You body is covered in various natural chemicals and you are stored in a mausoleum type storage until your body including bones become soil and that soil is given to the family. Still yet you have this "Aquamation" that turns your body to ash but with no fire. Interesting about Aquamation. It turns out the metal implants are not harmed and technically could be reused again ? Witch could make implant surgery more cheaper ? But so far that has not been approved in any state.
Here in NW Louisiana at our funeral home we use has a plan of burial you can have your ashes disposed of in space. It is very very expensive. Can you believe this?
In Germany green burials are not an option. I will be cremated and the urn will be put into the sea. Always loved the sea! I sewed my shroud some weeks ago. (I am 58 and healthy.)
My mom purchased 1 plot in a cemetery and since we all want to be cremated she bought 1 big stone that has niches, or compartments, for each urn and each niche has a stone plate that seals it after the urn is placed. It was important to her that there is a marker somewhere that says we existed. It's a beautiful stone, but it kinda creeps me out knowing there is a stone somewhere with my name on it already. My dad was placed there in October 2022. I want my dog's ashes placed in the niche with mine when I die.
My mother has a traditional pre-planned funeral. She wants her son and her grand-daughter's urn, buried with her in her casket. Funeral home has approved that but with a cost...of course.
We just lost our sister, and she wanted to be cremated and her ashes put in my parent’s crypt at the mausoleum. They wanted $10,000 to put them in there. She had no money, so we, her siblings and in laws, paid for her cremation and Celebration of Life, and that was a lot. Her children dumped her when she was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, they found out that she had no money. They actually are charging $100 to put her ashes in a cardboard box. It’s disgusting how funeral homes take advantage of families when their loved ones die.
There are more options than you outlined, so this particular video is not a comprhensive list of body 'disposal' options. You can donate your body to science. There are many ways to do that, as well. You can be composted, though now I think it's referred to as natural organic reduction or terramation. Some people want to do a sky burial, which is what I wanted at first, but having my corpse shipped to Tibet, to be hauled up a mountain seemed at odds with my desire to walk lightly on the earth after my death, and it would be cultural appropriation at best.We Americans would far too squeamish to allow a human be chopped into pieces and fed to vultures. Depending on what drugs I might have in my system should I die in hospice as opposed to a car accident. It would be bad for the vultures to consume those drugs. Regardlessa, you are so correct that people need to plan for whatever method they want and THEY NEED TO WRITE IT DOWN. A will or at the very least a letter of instruction. The same can be said of any pets you're leaving behind. You cannot and should not assume your loved ones will care for your pets. Of course some will, but some will tell you what you want to hear and do what they want when you're gone. Making someone promise might be a verbal agreement but if the executor won't honor that promise because it's 'not on paper', as my sister said when my mom died, the animals would've been euthanized upon her death. It was a bare knuckled street fight at first, but my mom's beloved pets are still alive.
Traditional Catholic funeral and cremation for me (which is now allowed for Catholics). I pre-paid for arrangements out of consideration for my family.
❤ My latest Daughter wants to be a tree. She's thought about it and made her wishes known. Not sure how that'll play out over the decades till then. Myself, well, being 'planted' sounds Ok too but I want to be cremated first. Some of me going to each of the places that we all bonded over, and some made into Key Chain Vials with a photo and sentiment inscribed and QR code with legacy link. 👍😎✊
I have possibly a weird question lol does one have to prove where they’ve been buried or how they’ve been buried post Mortem? Obviously proof via a family member. How does that work?
I'm getting natural burial in a nature preserve. Straight in the dirt in the shroud, returning myself to my Mother Earth. There's a natural burial cemetery near me that's a nature preserve....not just a random nature preserve. "Green burial" is many religions' tradition too.
In the Philippines after 8 years the bodies exhumed from where they were placed, NOT buried but not after the bodies are taken out of the caskets piece by piece and put in burlap sacks to be relocated in an other wall crypt😥
If you or your spouse have been in the military, even if it was the draft in the 70’s and were honorably discharged, apply for burial at a specified nation cemetery. Both husband and wife are eligible and are buried in the same grave. The ceremony at interment (taps, gun salute, folding of the flag and presentation of the flag to spouse)gravesite and engraved stone are all VA benefits. Just did this for my husband 6 weeks ago. Your funeral home should know how to coordinate with a national cemetery once the veteran is deemed eligible and has passed away. Plan and get your paperwork completed before the need!
Don’t matter Mother Earth will get it back cause it’s where it can from ! Praise God my spiritual department will already be with GOD 😊😊😊 KJV says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord 😀😀😀😀 !! Now let me see you beat that !!!!😃
We were able to cremate our mother and bury her ashes in a corner of her father's grave. We found out that you can bury one other person with the original grave. This was done at a very old and well-known Cemetery in Austin, TX. She essentially was buried with most of her family. It was a beautiful memory.
Green burial. Told my wife this last year actually. I dont want any chemicals or crap put in me. I want to be burried in my natural state and give my body back to the earth. There are a few cemeteries in my state that do it and i believe the nearest one to me plants flowers and trees above the bodies.
I do not want to buried. I think the poisoning of the meat to make it 'last' is barbaric. I have chosen to donate mine to a Body Farm, where I will be laid out in nature to be fed upon by living beings in the same way that I have fed upon the bodies of the formerly living every day of my life. By being laid out for scavengers I get to participate in the Circle of Life instead. With my second wife we did shroud her and made a homemade coffin and had a ceremony rather like what you say that you'd like, burying her without embalming so that she could join the Earth that natural way.
My parents have chosen to donate their bodies to science. When they pass , I call a number and their bodies are picked up. They have decided not to burden me and my brother with the financial aspect of a traditional funeral.
Why can't you have a viewing with a green burial? If the body is kept cold, there is no reason you can't, if you're viewing is within a few days to a week of death.
As if I would like to think about death, but truly it could come at any time. Lord willing I’ll be Christian and receive a Christian funeral, usually that would be an open casket funeral, but thank you for the video
Burial at sea is like green burial. No box. Fish eat the fleshy parts and within 5 years the bones dissolve. Just like the people of the Titanic. All thats left are their clothes or shoes.
You are wrong about burial at sea, because a high school friend of mine passed away a couple of years ago and planned a burial at sea. He had a friend with a boat do the service and went through the proper channels with no 😂
Since my parents are already gone, I told my siblings that I want to be cremated and they have to take a cruise together and throw my ashes in the ocean
VANITY, it's all Vanity, Yep, the cost of funerals is absolutely ridiculous, Funerals have gotten out of control and YEPPER the Funeral parlors are luring all in with all the fancy what nots, play on your sympathies and grief. PEOPLE, keep it simple, call it a green burial, it's the ORIGINAL, ya came from the dirt, go back to it, God knew how to take dirt and form mankind, he sure can take your decomposed body and whip ya back if He wanted to, BUT NO PEOPLE, Ya get a NEW Immortal body after ya die, well, you do get a choice, either heaven or hell, but it is for eternity, just be wise about your choice, ya don't get a 2nd chance. Keep it simple people, forget all the BS Sales pitches and dig a hole, wrap the ole bod, no embalming, just drop it and be done, no fancy headstone and all that, cause after a generation or so, nobody cares and nobody is going to visit the graves. I'm all for cremation, it's just a sped up process of not decomposing in the ground, just bake and shake, ha, serious, don't be all about wasting money on burials, use to help others or help the family instead of drop'n 10's of 1000's in the ground, serious, funerals are expensive, cremation is about 5 grand now, nothing fancy, had it done for dear mama, and she'll be poured at her favorite spot. ( heads up on the green burial, some rules are they have to be buried within 24 hrs, but again depends on the cemetery/state rules )
Thank you for this video. We need to talk about this more! I'm with you..green burial. I want to go back to the earth.
My parents were cremated and their ashes are in the same hole in the ground under the English ivy in a small, enclosed garden at the church where we worshiped for decades. No one in the family lives in the same state any more, but we all trooped up to the old church. I think it a bit romantic knowing that their ashes are together.
Human composte already informed my kids. They think im nuts. LOL 💜
I'm hoping that MD gets either a composting facility or aquamation in the next 15 years, as those are my first and 2nd choices. There are green burials here, which is my third choice.
I think you're FAB! 😊❤
Saul and his sons were burned in the Bible, I'm not afraid of cremation, would somebody pray for me today, my triglycerides are at 810, dangerously high, after all that I've done in the last year to lower my triglycerides, they were actually at 300 in February, God bless you all, God bless you Julie
Sending you prayers for good health and happiness. Love and best wishes from Ireland
@@bridgetlennon4154 God bless you Bridget, thank you very much, may the good Lord bless you and your family, Ireland is one of the most beautiful places in the world to me, all I can see is the pictures, I live in North Georgia in the United States
@@NormanChester882 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
@@Coffeeislife33 thank you for praying, I had to quit coffee, it cause me chest pain
I am praying for you also from the U.S. I pray for miracles, angels to surround, assist and healthy 🙏
My parents bought a double depth plot ages ago when planning their estate. They’re still alive in their mid 90s. A terrible little piece of me hopes my dad goes in first so my mom isn’t under him for eternity. I know morbid! But that’s where we’re at. I want to be cremated and scattered to the wind. I love fresh air. 😊 Thanks always for your frankness, Julie!
My parents are the same, they got a 2 for 1 deal. Buried in the middle of a field. Wild flowers. Beautiful place.
I'm totally confused by your comment. Why would it matter whether your mom was under your dad or vice versa? Are you trying to say that your dad always bullied and dominated your mom? That isn't a foregone conclusion that we can just assume without you explicitly stating that. In my family, my mom always bulled my dad and my wife always bullies me.
In the State of MD the Department of health allows you to donate your whole body for medical studies. Go online and download the forms and complete and send. Simple and straight forward.
We have already signed on to do this in Texas.
We're doing a cremation because the family plot is in another state. The important thing I just arranged for my parent is the mortuary for cremation services. This gives us a 24/7 phone number to call for collection of the remains so we're not stressing with mom lying in a bed in limbo. One thing I learned was the mortuary I chose does its own cremations. Not all mortuaries do this, but instead farm that service out to another provider necessitating transportation between facilities. I like knowing my loved one has one trip to the mortuary and that's it.
This is great advice. My dad had planned/paid for his “pre needs” funeral & burial in his 30’s, thankfully. When he died at the age of 72, all I had to do was take the paperwork to the funeral home where he’d planned/paid, decide on songs to be played at the service, and give them a photo for the printed obit. Daddy made a very difficult process as easy as possible for me❤️
I want to do the same for myself so that my child doesn’t have to make these final decisions and also pay, which can be a financial hardship.
My mom has a prepaid funeral. We helped her pick out her favorite casket and she went over all her funeral plans with the funeral director. When the time came, we could mourn our loss and not be bothered with all that work. It was such a relief that we're planning on doing it for ourselves.
@@MegaSnakegirl wise! Grief is enough without all the decision making and figuring out financials.
Want my ashes spread over spring bulbs so I can come back as part of daffodils and 🌷 tulips.
I know my spirit will be in the hereafter but I just like the thought of my remains fertilizing flowers.
Cremains are just ground bones that didn't burn. They are actually harmful to plants, so you wouldn't want to be scattered in a small area, like a garden bed. If scattered over a wide area (like a large lawn), it's less harmful, especially if it's watered a lot.
Thanks, Julie. Your videos are always so informative and you have such a sweet way of explaining everything to us ❤
Cremation. . . . .In 2006 my wife and I went to her doctor . . . .After a long , extensive consultation she found out her condition was terminal. . .We came out of the office. Got in the car as I turned the key on she told me to drive straight to the local mortuary which had a crematory where we bought 2 cremations. In California, this is an insurance which is good at any crematory in the USA. The body does not have to be shipped back. . . . At that time, the cost was $1420 each. . . .I cannot say what today's cost would be. The $1420 covered everything, including an urn. . . .nothing extravagant. . . . . .Peace of mind.! ! ! !!! Neither of us wanted a funeral. Others could gather on their own for a "remembrance" if they wanted.
@@edroth7612 I don’t want a funeral either
@@Coffeeislife33 I support you.
Where I live, in Dallas, it averages around $2000.00.
@@wolfe6220 That seems to be in the price ballpark- - -adjusted for inflation. . . .and . . . .if it includes everything. Thank you for your reply . . . .It helps others to gauge the cost difference with the burial industry's sales to price/profit tactics.
God bless you, Julie. ❤
My thought is, I didn't take up space on this earth before I was born and I don't plan to do so after I'm gone.
So true! And….i don’t wanna be dug up by archeologists at some point in the future…ew.
Mother did green burial and the location was a nature preserve that geologically had very deep water table, only flat markers are allowed. Everything has to be biodegradable thus shroud and no jewelry. Wild flowers everywhere.
This sounds beautiful.
May I ask where that is?
@@sapoverde65 Ive been considering this for myself. What is the marker made of?
I alway"s appreciate all of your video's.Lost my Mom to dementia last April and your vids helped alot.I"m going to see about planning my funeral this week,I really want cremation but as a christian,I"ve seen stuff on the internet that say"s might not be a good idea but the God I believe in wouldn"t care,so I"m still leaning towards that.
@@markrunyon5524 You might be reading about “the rapture” which is an evangelical interpretation of “the second coming”. Many Christian religions want deceased bodies to be intact for this ‘uplifting to heaven’. Believe as you wish, of course. I’m not here to evangelize. But I can’t imagine my god caring about anything but my soul. Or yours 😊🌸
I'm a Christian also & plenty of my older Christian friends chose cremation for when the time came. I'm hopefully donating my body to a nearby medical school when I pass away & after they've had my body for 5 years, they cover the cost of cremation. Then I'd like my family to spread my ashes in a field of horses as I'm a huge horse lover. I agree with you, it's not gonna stop God fulfilling His plan in any way. There are plenty of Christians on both sides of the fence.
With you being a christian( invited Jesus into your lifetime) then it's your spirit that goes to Heaven. A new body too.
Christians who die through burning still have their new body in heaven. This earthly body is finished.
@@judithvickery1584Good point!
My husband was cremated and then buried in a spot very special to him: then when our son also died of cancer 7 years later he asked to be cremated and buried with his dad in the plot.
Thanks for the video. I have made my arrangements, I had a sales person asked what I wanted to be done at the viewing .. when I made my final arrangements. Type of casket. My brother will help with final arrangements. This way they don't have to make plans. I will be buried at Spring Grove cemetery. The first time I drove through Spring Grove this is a well kept cemetery
This is so helpful. It remains a "taboo" topic in so many families, still. For people who don't know how to start the conversation in their families, this is an excellent video to share. Thank you so much, Julie, for what you!! ❤
I'm in New Brunswick, Canada. In the field north of my house is a random pile of rocks. We figured out that it's the grave of my four-greats grandpa, Isaac Cook (1757 - 1828), a farmer and Revolutionary War veteran who built this house in 1800. Obviously a home burial. It's nice knowing this ancestor is just a few minutes' walk from the house. Turns out, home burial is legal here in Canada (though if I can get a spot in the cemetery just south of my place--yes, I live next door to a cemetery--I will)--and so is green burial. However, at this point, I choose cremation: not the greenest option, but greener than traditional burial as well as easily accessible and cheaper (and funerals are expensive--indeed, we have a cost of living crisis in Canada, and CTV, one of the major networks, recently did a story about how the cost of dying has also gone up), and the body will decompose, anyway.
Hi Anna, how's your day going with you?
Don't forget about aquamation and composting.
I am planning for the green burial also. My Brother died this summer rather unexpectedly. He was only 64 but with some health problems. He did not plan for his burial and left it on his son and our Dad to do it. He was cremated and his ashes were buried on top of our Mom. We had a lovely memorial service for him. After my Mom died of Cancer my Dad sold his home, and moved into an assisted living/nursing. It’s the type that will care for him according to his needs. It will also do his hospice care. He made funeral arrangements quite a while ago before my Mom even died. All we have to do is contact them when the time comes.
I have liked the idea of the green burial. The fact that you are not embalmed and you decompose faster into the soil works for me. I hear so many new coffins that are: bulletproof, waterproof, seals up nice and tight which can cause issues with the coffins to explode when the gasses start to build up from the slow decomposition. I also understand that the green burial does have a cheaper cost when the caskets are in excess of 10,000. If you look at it, we came from the soil, so we go back and so the best way to go and fertilize it is the green way.
$10K is very high. My wife's casket was under $1000, and it was very nice.
my favorite is a green burial as well, as for a viewing of the body you can still have that but you would have what is called an identification viewing (only for immediate family with most funeral homes) where the body is laid on a cot and the family gets some private time to say goodbye. you can also have an ID viewing for cremation as well if your having a memorial service (urn present) instead of being embalmed and having a traditional viewing.
My parents are buried side by side; my sister was murdered, and was cremated and her ashes buried on my parent's graves. That's my plan, but I purchased plots for my kids and grandchildren.
I’m so sorry to hear about what happened to your sister, I hope you have found (are finding) peace
Same with my parents r side by side with my sisters cremains on top my sis wouldn’t of wanted it any other way ❤it’s easier for me I buy flowers for all 3 in one place 👍
Thank you Julie always informative ❤
My paternal grandmother had a family plot, and that's where her and my grandfather were buried. They had traditional viewings and burials complete with a vault. My maternal grandparents went with a more "green" burial and got buried in pine boxes. For my grandmother, we had a closed casket funeral mass, and for my grandfather, a small service at the cemetery chapel. For me, I don't even want a funeral. Have a party instead! I don't want to be "buried" either, I want to be turned into a tree.🌳
Thank you for sharing with us
My Sister had a green burial. She was in an automobile accident so she needed a pine box. Absolutely nothing unnatural can be buried no stone.
So expensive it was $15,000
Thanks for doing this video. I started to look into this a couple of years ago when I was fighting a very lethal cancer with the odds stacked against me. I did manage to escape the Grim Reaper this time, though I know he/she is never far away. You didn't mention this option, which is sort of a hybrid of those you did, but the most attractive alternative to me is a natural burial, no embalming, but in a wooden casket with no vault, which is very much in line with the traditional method. It is environmentally friendly, but still is consistent with traditional expectations of having a casket to protect from immediate decomposition and corruption of the body.
In a National Cemetery husband and wife can be buried together, Head stone has each person's dates. That's what we had decided to do. It's so much cheaper for families, the burial for the Military member is with military honors. The graves are always kept up and there is no charge to the family for it. I have recently learned about green burials, I'm interested and after talking with my husband he's interested too. No chemicals, a natural return to the earth, and less stress for the surviving children. Thanks for the video. I'll share it with our friends.
My husband is in cyrpt burial. My Father, Mother and Husband are waiting for me. Crypt holds 4 bodies. I had my husband in closed casket with ceremony at funeral home and then to cemetary. We have 4. I had to have my husbands body flown from NC to MA. He passed at home and I had all plans arranged. I have my paperwork all down and will do the same thing I had for my husband.
Hi Betty, how's your day going with you?
I’m being cremated and going to a national cemetery. Bought planned and paid for. Some of my friends think weird. Why leave a mess for my family
@@sharonbull4483 My parents did this and it made things so much easier for us, knowing what they wanted and having it pre-arranged made a difficult time much easier for myself and my siblings.
When my 3-year-old son passed, I chose a double-depth plot so he could be buried with my dad, who had passed 10 years earlier- the two most important people in my life. It brings me great comfort knowing they are together, not only in heaven but also here on earth.
How about Aquamation dissolution of body by water solution and heat I think, vs high heat/fire cremation? Not widely available yet.
If possible I want to die out in nature, near a river, deep in the forrest, looking at the blue sky one more time, just letting my body be recycled back to nature
Me too! Just in case I don't make it out for that last hike I've signed up to donate my mortal coil to the body farm in Cullowhee, NC
same here but not allowed where i come from
A sky burial?
@@UpcomingJediAnything thrown out of a plane will fall to Earth. How could it be a sky burial? 🤔🤷
The buzzards agree
For those of you who are interested, there's a channel here on UA-cam called Are You Dying to Know. One of the two ladies (she's the mortician) filmed herself doing a burial at sea with the deceased person & some of their family. It's somber, but very informative.
Thank you so much!
In ground burial - I’ve read that embalming fluids are leaking into water tables.
And embalming isn't even required. I wonder if they could make caskets out of that pulp material drink carriers are made out of?
@@ArwenNMyrtlesMom They do make those in some places, specifically for green burials.
@ArwenNMyrtlesMom we chose a cardboard casket for my grandfather for environmental and budget reasons. It's exterior was lovely blue fabric. They decompose quickly. His church cemetery required a casket, otherwise we would have chosen a green burial.
@@ArwenNMyrtlesMom I've seen wicker baskets. I'd say just a plain pine box would work too.
My parents are buried in a double depth plot. They used to joke about who’s going to be on top.😂
Great content!!!
Body donation
I have already made arrangements for my body to be donated to the decomposition research facility at Texas State University. My family knows this and knows where to find the paperwork. Once the research is complete, my bones will go into their permanent collection. Can you tell I'm a teacher?
I have already have my funeral paid for and I have my 2 burial plots I have had them for many years.....ii think it's best to be prepared... but that is my opinion
I CAN'T SWIM!!! NO sea burial for me,lol
Cremation is actually quite bad for the environment. Learned from the fabulous Caitlin Doughty, a very popular mortician. She doesn't post many videos anymore, but she is fantastic.
Yep. Human composting is the way of the future!
My wife & I have decided to go for shroud burial in the Colorado Burial Preserve - which is designated as a nature preserve, meaning it will never be developed. We will return to the earth naturally. We had long favored cremation but knew of problems with cremains. We really encourage people to look into green burial option, and if in Colorado, contact Colorado Burial Preserve.
I’ve donated my body to medical research. .. No burial for me 😊
Yes that is a option but with some risk. It comes down to need at the time of your death. If medical schools have what they need at that time. They will turn you down and your family will have to make other arrangements. So have a back up plan.
There are some wonderful morticians with youtube channels where a person can learn alot. There is the "water cremation" as well as natural burial. There is the pod with a tree. There are memory stones, jewelry, and glassware options with the cremains as well. Some faith traditions have guidelines to follow when it comes to death care. There might be health code regulations as well. If there is no embalming, the body must be buried within so many hours. Whatever the choices, it's best to make the arrangements ahead of time to lessen the stress on those left behind. I have wirked with countless morticians. Everyone of them has been kind and understanding.
In California, if you want to bury a body on private land, check with the municipal or county zoning department to find out whether you can establish a family cemetery (if you live in a rural area). Friends of mine have several family members buried on the property under a giant oak tree in Cazadero on a ranch that was purchased in the 1930's and passed down through the generations. You just need to go through all the paperwork and permits.
Before I found out I was sick and very mortal even though I might die I did not want my body destroyed but now I am sick I really don't care I even tell my son do not pay out on an expensive coffin just a £99 cardboard box
I accept now I am the sum of my memories or soul which has now gone
But before I did not want to get roasted now I just don't care
While my wife was on hospice we talked about this and decided together to get side-by-side plots at a little cemetery that she liked. She is now in hers and mine is there waiting for when I join her. I know it's just our physical bodies that our souls no longer inhabit but it's still a comfort to visit her grave and know we'll be together there for our kids.
Consider this option: After one dies and is cremated, have their ashes put into a crater on the Moon and/or Mars to help enrich the soil so that vegetation can be grown to help 'life itself' to continue on beyond this Earth. Plus, what better 'headstone' than the Moon and/or Mars itself where basically everyone could see it? Plus, the 'burial costs' could help fund the space program. Pets and other critters could have it done as well.
Consider also a triple crater, (a crater inside a crater inside yet another crater). The lower crater could eventually be where water could collect. The middle crater could eventually be where 'land creatures' live. The upper crater could eventually help hold in an atmosphere. Not many triple craters, first come, first served.
After cremation, the ashes are mixed with cement, droped in the ocean to create coral reefs. It's called an Eternal Reef.
Compost Burial for Me. Alas, only legal in ( I think) 4 states and Not in mine. YET.
You are lucky to have that option in the US. I am in Australia and really really want to be composted but we are yet to get this option happening here.
Thank you so much for the information. So good to know. (P.S. love your youtube!)
Good information for sure but you didn't mention another new burial method which is called Composting. It originated in Seattle, WA I believe but has or is being used in other states. One company is called Earth Funeral and another is called Recompose. I've never liked the embalming/burial in a box idea and cremation just seems too violent and uses a lot of energy. But composting seems like a more natural and organic way to dispose of our physical vessels. Check it out - my husband and I are probably going to make our plans for this.
My daughter, a doctor, has donated her body to Humanity Gifts Registry to be used to educate future doctors and sciencetists. Afterwards her remains will be place in a special urn with her/your choice of tree, bush or flower to be planted wherever brings you joy.
Julie I just died in your arms tonight it must’ve been something you said ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
My husband and I visited one of the Funeral Homes in our city back in 2013, when we both purchased the cremation package. This included transportation to the crematorium, no casket or viewing or funeral service. Well, my husband passed away on Father's Day, 2024, and when I went to the Funeral Home to take care of the final details (ordering the death certificates, obituary, and disposition of the cremains), I was not prepared for the disposition of his cremains part! After a little discussion, I learned that the Home owned a parcel of land that is part of a cemetery, and if I wanted, I could allow them to scatter his ashes there. Not only did I say yes to that, but because I am now completely alone, I made arrangements for them to do the same for me. They looked up my contract, filled out the paperwork, had me sign, and I have now taken care of the disposition of my cremains. My brother lives in California, and my sister lives in Hawaii, while I am in Arkansas. We are all in our 70s and not in the best of health, so I am now trying to make arrangements where everything can be taken care of electronically so neither of them will be forced to have to travel to Central Arkansas to take care of my final affairs. One advantage of the electronic age is at least going to prove helpful for my family. Oh, and none of us have children. My brother had a son who "died suddenly" almost two years ago now, and we were never close. It's strange to be in this predicament, yet here I am. At least I know that the Funeral Home will take care of my body without needing to have someone show up in person to take care of things.
Well actually their are sever types of green burials. You can be buried in cloth, cloth with a wicker type casket, They encapsule you in a biodegradable pod, with a tree. Still more have green burial where your body is turned into soil. You body is covered in various natural chemicals and you are stored in a mausoleum type storage until your body including bones become soil and that soil is given to the family. Still yet you have this "Aquamation" that turns your body to ash but with no fire. Interesting about Aquamation. It turns out the metal implants are not harmed and technically could be reused again ? Witch could make implant surgery more cheaper ? But so far that has not been approved in any state.
@@texasborn2720 I've read that medical devices like pacemakers can be removed from a human body and reused in dogs.
Here in NW Louisiana at our funeral home we use has a plan of burial you can have your ashes disposed of in space. It is very very expensive. Can you believe this?
Ohh really?
I'm too busy thnking about living to think about dying. To each his own :)
I think I either want to be cremated or maybe donate my body to science. Actual burial is horrifying to me because I’m terribly claustrophobic 😅
In Germany green burials are not an option. I will be cremated and the urn will be put into the sea. Always loved the sea! I sewed my shroud some weeks ago. (I am 58 and healthy.)
My mom purchased 1 plot in a cemetery and since we all want to be cremated she bought 1 big stone that has niches, or compartments, for each urn and each niche has a stone plate that seals it after the urn is placed. It was important to her that there is a marker somewhere that says we existed. It's a beautiful stone, but it kinda creeps me out knowing there is a stone somewhere with my name on it already. My dad was placed there in October 2022. I want my dog's ashes placed in the niche with mine when I die.
My mother has a traditional pre-planned funeral. She wants her son and her grand-daughter's urn, buried with her in her casket. Funeral home has approved that but with a cost...of course.
We just lost our sister, and she wanted to be cremated and her ashes put in my parent’s crypt at the mausoleum. They wanted $10,000 to put them in there. She had no money, so we, her siblings and in laws, paid for her cremation and Celebration of Life, and that was a lot. Her children dumped her when she was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, they found out that she had no money. They actually are charging $100 to put her ashes in a cardboard box. It’s disgusting how funeral homes take advantage of families when their loved ones die.
There are more options than you outlined, so this particular video is not a comprhensive list of body 'disposal' options.
You can donate your body to science. There are many ways to do that, as well.
You can be composted, though now I think it's referred to as natural organic reduction or terramation.
Some people want to do a sky burial, which is what I wanted at first, but having my corpse shipped to Tibet, to be hauled up a mountain seemed at odds with my desire to walk lightly on the earth after my death, and it would be cultural appropriation at best.We Americans would far too squeamish to allow a human be chopped into pieces and fed to vultures. Depending on what drugs I might have in my system should I die in hospice as opposed to a car accident. It would be bad for the vultures to consume those drugs.
Regardlessa, you are so correct that people need to plan for whatever method they want and THEY NEED TO WRITE IT DOWN. A will or at the very least a letter of instruction. The same can be said of any pets you're leaving behind. You cannot and should not assume your loved ones will care for your pets. Of course some will, but some will tell you what you want to hear and do what they want when you're gone. Making someone promise might be a verbal agreement but if the executor won't honor that promise because it's 'not on paper', as my sister said when my mom died, the animals would've been euthanized upon her death. It was a bare knuckled street fight at first, but my mom's beloved pets are still alive.
I love the ask a mortician videos. She is so funny!
Prop me up beside the jukebox when I die.
😂
Every burial here in Norway is "green" except everyone getting buried is layed in a casket.
Traditional Catholic funeral and cremation for me (which is now allowed for Catholics). I pre-paid for arrangements out of consideration for my family.
Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.
❤ My latest Daughter wants to be a tree. She's thought about it and made her wishes known. Not sure how that'll play out over the decades till then.
Myself, well, being 'planted' sounds Ok too but I want to be cremated first. Some of me going to each of the places that we all bonded over, and some made into Key Chain Vials with a photo and sentiment inscribed and QR code with legacy link. 👍😎✊
Can you talk about options for donating your body to science?
I have possibly a weird question lol does one have to prove where they’ve been buried or how they’ve been buried post Mortem?
Obviously proof via a family member.
How does that work?
Hi Mary, how's your day going with you?
You just have to give a “final resting place” to the Mortuary. My Dad’s and brothers ashes have been in our family’s home for more 10 years.
I'm getting natural burial in a nature preserve. Straight in the dirt in the shroud, returning myself to my Mother Earth. There's a natural burial cemetery near me that's a nature preserve....not just a random nature preserve.
"Green burial" is many religions' tradition too.
In the Philippines after 8 years the bodies exhumed from where they were placed, NOT buried but not after the bodies are taken out of the caskets piece by piece and put in burlap sacks to be relocated in an other wall crypt😥
I have family that is doing home hospice and I have a question.what does it mean when a person is being fed by syringe
Sea (asches) funerel for me for me in Denmark
If you or your spouse have been in the military, even if it was the draft in the 70’s and were honorably discharged, apply for burial at a specified nation cemetery. Both husband and wife are eligible and are buried in the same grave. The ceremony at interment (taps, gun salute, folding of the flag and presentation of the flag to spouse)gravesite and engraved stone are all VA benefits. Just did this for my husband 6 weeks ago. Your funeral home should know how to coordinate with a national cemetery once the veteran is deemed eligible and has passed away. Plan and get your paperwork completed before the need!
Don’t matter Mother Earth will get it back cause it’s where it can from ! Praise God my spiritual department will already be with GOD 😊😊😊 KJV says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord 😀😀😀😀 !! Now let me see you beat that !!!!😃
what about burial in a family cemetery on private property?
My grandmother was in a double depth and was supposed to be buried with her daughter but her daughter ended up being cremated instead.
I buried my mom’s ashes, per her request, in my flower garden in my backyard.
We were able to cremate our mother and bury her ashes in a corner of her father's grave. We found out that you can bury one other person with the original grave. This was done at a very old and well-known Cemetery in Austin, TX. She essentially was buried with most of her family. It was a beautiful memory.
Hi Michelle, how's your day going with you?
How can you donate your body to science?
Search the internet for that question, adding the name of the closest city.
I want the most environmentally friendly option possible when the time comes.
in doritos ranch dip and dr. pepper.
Thinking back I’m pretty sure I haven’t been to a burial for at least half a century. All cremations these days.
Green burial. Told my wife this last year actually. I dont want any chemicals or crap put in me. I want to be burried in my natural state and give my body back to the earth. There are a few cemeteries in my state that do it and i believe the nearest one to me plants flowers and trees above the bodies.
I do not want to buried. I think the poisoning of the meat to make it 'last' is barbaric. I have chosen to donate mine to a Body Farm, where I will be laid out in nature to be fed upon by living beings in the same way that I have fed upon the bodies of the formerly living every day of my life. By being laid out for scavengers I get to participate in the Circle of Life instead.
With my second wife we did shroud her and made a homemade coffin and had a ceremony rather like what you say that you'd like, burying her without embalming so that she could join the Earth that natural way.
My parents have chosen to donate their bodies to science. When they pass , I call a number and their bodies are picked up. They have decided not to burden me and my brother with the financial aspect of a traditional funeral.
Ivana is under bushes at Mar-a-largo.
Why can't you have a viewing with a green burial? If the body is kept cold, there is no reason you can't, if you're viewing is within a few days to a week of death.
As if I would like to think about death, but truly it could come at any time. Lord willing I’ll be Christian and receive a Christian funeral, usually that would be an open casket funeral, but thank you for the video
Just clarification, by Christian, I mean I’ll be Chrismated and become Orthodox
Burial at sea is like green burial. No box. Fish eat the fleshy parts and within 5 years the bones dissolve. Just like the people of the Titanic. All thats left are their clothes or shoes.
You are wrong about burial at sea, because a high school friend of mine passed away a couple of years ago and planned a burial at sea. He had a friend with a boat do the service and went through the proper channels with no 😂
Since my parents are already gone, I told my siblings that I want to be cremated and they have to take a cruise together and throw my ashes in the ocean
I want an inept archer trying to burn my float as I'm floating away like in GOT.
VANITY, it's all Vanity, Yep, the cost of funerals is absolutely ridiculous, Funerals have gotten out of control and YEPPER the Funeral parlors are luring all in with all the fancy what nots, play on your sympathies and grief. PEOPLE, keep it simple, call it a green burial, it's the ORIGINAL, ya came from the dirt, go back to it, God knew how to take dirt and form mankind, he sure can take your decomposed body and whip ya back if He wanted to, BUT NO PEOPLE, Ya get a NEW Immortal body after ya die, well, you do get a choice, either heaven or hell, but it is for eternity, just be wise about your choice, ya don't get a 2nd chance. Keep it simple people, forget all the BS Sales pitches and dig a hole, wrap the ole bod, no embalming, just drop it and be done, no fancy headstone and all that, cause after a generation or so, nobody cares and nobody is going to visit the graves. I'm all for cremation, it's just a sped up process of not decomposing in the ground, just bake and shake, ha, serious, don't be all about wasting money on burials, use to help others or help the family instead of drop'n 10's of 1000's in the ground, serious, funerals are expensive, cremation is about 5 grand now, nothing fancy, had it done for dear mama, and she'll be poured at her favorite spot. ( heads up on the green burial, some rules are they have to be buried within 24 hrs, but again depends on the cemetery/state rules )