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Modern Funeral Customs

I'm seriously thinking of going for direct cremation myself. I still haven't got round to making a will, so perhaps this'll encourage me to talk it all over with a solicitor.
 
This is how I feel too. Hoping to bow out at an advanced enough age that folks'll say 'Oh well, she 'ad a good innins!' so there'll be no mourning.
 
Well, this never occurred to me at all. My reaction to seeing that article was 'how can you not have a funeral'?
If it saves so much money, I may consider doing that as well.
No need to choose music!
 
Mythopoeika said:
Well, this never occurred to me at all. My reaction to seeing that article was 'how can you not have a funeral'?
If it saves so much money, I may consider doing that as well.
No need to choose music!
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I would leave money for a party where all of the music could be played,
 
My sister knows a family who, when their mother died, obeyed her wishes to the letter about her 'disposal'. They all went to see her in the funeral home to say goodbye and then she was cremated with no ceremony.

That's what I'd like, nothing really, though I'd wish for anyone who cared about me to see me dead and hopefully looking at peace. Not for my benefit, I won't care, it's for theirs.
 
Mythopoeika said:
Well, this never occurred to me at all. My reaction to seeing that article was 'how can you not have a funeral'?
If it saves so much money, I may consider doing that as well.
No need to choose music!
Click to expand...

I would leave money for a party where all of the music could be played.
 
I'm not very clear on how much money would be saved by not having a funeral. Presumably a funeral firm will have to be used to prepare the body and transport it to the Crematorium, and they and the Crem would still need paying. Skipping the funeral means what? Not having to pay some parson/rabbi/mullah who never even met the deceased to drone a few words? Not having to get flowers to decorate the Chapel?

Yes, I really need some help to think this through. Since I can't rely on friends or family to organise my funeral (or even attend it) it seems that getting a solicitor to arrange a Direct Cremation might be simpler. But how much would that cost? (Plus, I've heard too many stories about crooked solicitors.)

I'm very tempted to just die and let the council sort it all out! But then again, I always worry about some stranger getting into my affairs and ripping off whatever loot and possessions I might have left behind.
Why is nothing ever simple? :(
 
rynner2 said:
I'm not very clear on how much money would be saved by not having a funeral. Presumably a funeral firm will have to be used to prepare the body and transport it to the Crematorium, and they and the Crem would still need paying. Skipping the funeral means what? Not having to pay some parson/rabbi/mullah who never even met the deceased to drone a few words? Not having to get flowers to decorate the Chapel?

Yes, I really need some help to think this through. Since I can't rely on friends or family to organise my funeral (or even attend it) it seems that getting a solicitor to arrange a Direct Cremation might be simpler. But how much would that cost? (Plus, I've heard too many stories about crooked solicitors.)

I'm very tempted to just die and let the council sort it all out! But then again, I always worry about some stranger getting into my affairs and ripping off whatever loot and possessions I might have left behind.
Why is nothing ever simple? :(
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You could donate your body to medical science. The University would look after the burial after they were finished with your cadaver.
 
You can contact the crematorium directly. They pick up the body and use a simple case rather than an expensive casket. As it's done ina couple of days there is no need for embalming.
 
I may be well over my head here, but I was told the credit union could help with funeral arrangements (usually larger ones). I can't find much information online perhaps because one credit union may not offer the same as the rest. But it may be worth a venture if there's one near you Rynner.
 
ramonmercado said:
You could donate your body to medical science. The University would look after the burial after they were finished with your cadaver.
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Gordon Jackson the actor (The Professionals) donated his body to science and a friend of my mum's who was studying to be a chiropodist got his leg to work with. It still had his genitals on it (!).
 
GNC said:
Gordon Jackson the actor (The Professionals) donated his body to science and a friend of my mum's who was studying to be a chiropodist got his leg to work with. It still had his genitals on it (!).
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What?.....Is this a joke I'm not getting?
 
Mythopoeika said:
Well, this never occurred to me at all. My reaction to seeing that article was 'how can you not have a funeral'?
If it saves so much money, I may consider doing that as well.
No need to choose music!
Click to expand...

Sure, it can be done. There was no "proper" funeral service for my father-in-law. He had suffered a long illness which left the family without much money for one anyway. He was cremated, and a week or so later there was a memorial service in a public park. He and his wife had been active in the community folklore/storytellers group, so it was arranged a bit like that. Various people told of their memories him and some of his bagpiper friends provided the music. He wasn't a very formal type of person and not religious, so it was fitting.
 
rynner2 said:
I'm not very clear on how much money would be saved by not having a funeral. Presumably a funeral firm will have to be used to prepare the body and transport it to the Crematorium, and they and the Crem would still need paying. Skipping the funeral means what? Not having to pay some parson/rabbi/mullah who never even met the deceased to drone a few words? Not having to get flowers to decorate the Chapel?

Yes, I really need some help to think this through. Since I can't rely on friends or family to organise my funeral (or even attend it) it seems that getting a solicitor to arrange a Direct Cremation might be simpler. But how much would that cost? (Plus, I've heard too many stories about crooked solicitors.)

I'm very tempted to just die and let the council sort it all out! But then again, I always worry about some stranger getting into my affairs and ripping off whatever loot and possessions I might have left behind.
Why is nothing ever simple? :(
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Leave it all to me Rynner, (rubs hands), hehe leave it all to me, I'll look after you when you die. :twisted:

Seriously though my only trouble is that it in some cases it's taking us further away from the physical realities of death, you know the ol' dead body thing. The traditions for godsake, we'll be losing those traditions that have been linked to funerals for years.

If we don't have a body then when will we be able to do the "gottle of geer, gottle of geer" thing when old Aunt Mavis pops her clogs?

It's bad enough that false teeth are getting scarcer. Gone are the days you could cover a the deceased's gnashers in dog food, shove the teeth in the mouth of the pet dog and shout "look out he's got rabies!" to frighten the kids at a funeral.

I think some of you are missing the point of funerals.
 
GNC said:
Gordon Jackson the actor (The Professionals) donated his body to science and a friend of my mum's who was studying to be a chiropodist got his leg to work with. It still had his genitals on /QUOTE]
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Actually nice breach of confidentiality. Lets hope no one from that hospital is reading this forum?
 
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I dunno, you could imagine that an entire leg would be necessary to help grasp the entire foot/leg anatomy/physiology flapdoodle. So, y'know, you'll understand how it all fits together.

The genitals though - no.
 
The vision of a fine weather-beaten ginger thesp-leg with matching genitalia attached makes me wonder . . .

Was he one of those Gordon Thighstanders?

Anyway, the business of bequeathing his body may have been a way to avoid all that trad. Scots snatching. :D
 
escargot1 said:
I dunno, you could imagine that an entire leg would be necessary to help grasp the entire foot/leg anatomy/physiology flapdoodle. So, y'know, you'll understand how it all fits together.

The genitals though - no.
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Unless the student who was training to be a leg and cock doctor called in sick that day?

They thought, 'shame for it to go to waste we'll give it to the student chiropodist".

or maybe they leave it on for something to grab onto when you are filing the nails down?
 
Sorry, no more details, the anecdote speaks for itself really. It wasn't any secret that Jackson left his body to science, by the way, I have a memory of reading it in his obit at the time. I suppose it's just squeamishness that makes the idea of having your body parts, all of them, used for research. Mind you, we've all heard the horror stories about medical students' sense of humour.

Changing the subject a bit, does nobody fancy going in for that process where they break down your corpse into various metals and minerals to be sold? Don't know how cost effective it would be, but I like the sound of being useful. Finally.
 
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