Do you want to be Buried, Cremated or COMPOSTED?

[Sci.fi.phile]

I'll note that when I was looking into this, most places that took full body donations seem to want almost everything intact, so that conflicted with my wishes to have my organs donated as possible. Something to consider if you're looking into whole body donation.

To be fair, organ donation is actually pretty rare, and you basically need to end up in the ICU setting on life support. And I believe the organ donation service would try to work with the body donation to try and make both work.

[Wondering Beard]

I'm nowhere that cool nor do I have cool friends and family .

But ...

This

[Cheap Shot]

This is a big deal. Make your own plans in advance.

During times of crisis, people will fixate on minute things instead of dealing with the big picture. Which is why we routinely have shitshows of parents/siblings/children fighting over who is handling the remains and who's paying for it. Lawyers get involved, the body is taking up space that I need, nothing you wanted is getting done and any useful family cohesion goes right out the window.

If your whole family is sweetness and light, and everyone gets along; this doesn't apply to you. (We get those families too. We like them.) If you have any family drama, expect it to be magnified surrounding your death.

On pre-planning your final disposition:

The best part about paying in advance is that you can shop around. Prices vary, quality varies. Planning ahead pays off. You can find deals. Sometimes you can pre-pay and hedge against inflation. Great if you are working with a decent funeral home that will be around for a while. (Read the fine print of the contract and make sure you understand it.) Disposition of your body is about what you want.

Also a thing to remember: take your people with you when planning ahead. Remember, the funeral service is notabout what you want. The funeral isn't for the dead person, it's for the survivors. Don't be insensitive to their wishes. If your family wants a service, they are going to do one, whether you want them too or not. Help them out.

As for me, I just don't want to see you twice. So, whatever you decide to do, make sure that you do it in a manner that people actually know there is a dead body there. I don't want to excavate your grave because the new family who owns your old house has a dog that likes to dig. Those excavations are really expensive in time and money.

Show much wisdom here, also applicable beyond the scope of this thread. With Dr T's @Dr_Thanatos permission I'd like to add the bolded part in to my sig line

[Cheap Shot]

I think I'd like to be cremated and then have my ashes shot out of a large caliber muzzle-loading cannon.

Completely coincidentally, a friend sent me this and said "Finally I know what to do with that dead guy in the cupboard."

https://outwithabang.ca/

I think this particular setup is a little, I don't know, lame? But it did send me over to the Phantom Fireworks website and I have to say, this has a lot of potential.

[Joe S]

Could put on an ill attended parade for that stupid money.

You might be surprised.

After we had done the aforementioned donation to a medical school for my old man, we had a memorial service at his church. Since his spiritual home was New Orleans, at the end of the service, we had hired a local brass band to take everyone on a small procession out the church, down the block, and back, to some classic tunes, starting with "Oh When The Saints". My sister in-law and niece skipped and danced. It was pretty cool. 10/10 recommend, and I don't remember the exact cost, but it wasn't much.

The gumbo afterwards was not as good as he made it, but not bad either.

[Robert Mitchum]

Burned and stuffed in a Folgers Coffee Can.
Put on the shelf with our pets who have passed.

[Joe in PNG]

The thing where you get crisped, pressed into the shape of a seashell, and dumped off Lighthouse Point at Sanibel is what I'm wanting.

[willie]

Cremation. By the way, I'm pre-selling my ashes for $50 per shot glass full in case any of you suckers want to invest. Postal money orders, please.

[Coyotesfan97]

I’ll be cremated. I’ll be in an urn like my working dogs. I want all my working dogs ashes buried or spread with me.

[Doc_Glock]

Maybe? If I did, I lost those memories a while back studying.

I have actually done these cases, so it's not hypothetical.

I'm not going to tell you on the internet the details of what happened with @jlw coroner found bones in a graveyard and wanted to excavate the whole thing. Sometimes even a completely marked graveyard can't save you from the slings and arrows of incompetence. But, it's a funny story; especially when both of us are telling it.

Teaser!