Burial vs cremation
 

Cost aside, which would you prefer?

This was something that I had to ponder on when I lost my husband. the kids wanted him to be buried so they could go to his grave.when they wanted to talk with him. so that is what I did.
I always said cremation with my ashes scattered into the four winds.but I will more than likely be buried with my husband.



Namaste

Cremation, definitely. There will be no one to visit my grave and I do not intend to sit around a graveyard.

I also prefer cremation, it feels cleaner.

My mom at one time wanted to be buried at sea. She has changed her mind now and had a notary set up a document to donate her body to science.

cremation. It will tie up the final loose end of my life.

I prefer either burial at sea or natural burial soon after death. That way my remains would be recycled back into the Earth and it avoids the release of noxious chemicals associated with either embalming or cremation.

Lots of people who are cremated do not request their ashes be scattered, rather a loved
one may keep the deceased ashes in an urn somewhere in their home or elsewhere.
I know people who have done this.

In my Last Will & Testament, I have requested that I be cremated and my ashes be kept in an
urn at a veteran’s cemetery. The VA has small lockers suitable for cremation urns at most VA
cemeteries, and they will have a military funeral regardless whether the veteran is buried in a
casket or cremated and the remains placed in a locker. Loved ones can visit a locker at a VA
cemetery just as they would visit a grave-site.

You can choose inscriptions and religious symbols before your death which would go on the door
of your cremation urn locker or on a grave site headstone if buried. The link below shows some of
the symbols available for headstones and urn lockers, at VA expense, to veterans.

https://www.cem.va.gov/cem/hmm/emblems.asp

It is not necessary to choose any symbol or inscription at all, but usually at least the veterans name,
branch of military service, and birth and death dates, are placed on the headstone or urn locker door.

When I was in grad-school one of the things we learned was how to do a community assessment,
and part of this process was visiting a cemetery in an outlying community and writing a paper about
what you learned about that community from visiting their local cemetery.

Its’ amazing the things you can learn, especially from the headstones, when you visit a cemetery.
Like when I did this assignment I learned that there was a couple of years when lots of young children
died in a particular community, and I learned this from looking at grave-site headstones. Family plots
can tell you something about a community. The types of headstones there are in the cemetery, religious
symbols, etc., can tell you something. There are lots of things you can learn from a grave yard.

I want to be cremated and my husband and I want our ashes scattered together. I cant imagine my body sitting in the ground to slowly rot and then people come to visit a patch of grass and then those who loved me will pass on and no one will visit my patch of grass and I am simply taking up space. SMH

Cremated and used to enrich soil for flowers, preferably lotus flowers.

i be terfied of bean bured alivee iw ud be

As I read through the comments I noticed odd differences about customs. Here most of the people go for cremation, but the urns containing ashes are later still buried in family graves, so people have a place to go, which I guess solves the problem. I would definitely prefer cremation in order to not leave anything behind to tie me down, but there are some other options that are available today, that might be a bit exotic. One such is being buried in a oval, egg shaped like container, body intact, which has a seed or a small sapling inside with all the required nutrients, and of-course those the decomposing body will provide, to grow in to a mighty tree. Idea is to have cemeteries with trees serving as tombstones, which I find beautiful but at the same time, imagine could be a little bit unnerving actually experiencing?

Thats interesting, ive never heard about this mighty tree burial. It would take up too much space at cemetaries and likely cost 4 or 5x more than a plot. But that would be a sight to see. I guess thats why so many people have a bench dedicated to a loved one. I asked this question because ive worked at a cemetary for some time now. Many people do hate the thought of very slowly rotting away underground... Also, i forogt to put entombment being the same as burial. And the embalming process is not a nice thought. Where i live (very culturally diverse), about 75% of the time it is a very traditional burial

I wonder how viable cryogenically frozen will become in some years from now. Thats always fascinated me

It's just a matter of perspectives I guess but for me when I lost a significant person dear to me I found more comfort in having her burried rather than cremated. I don't know why but something about cremation feels rather unsettling and unnatural to me so I'd rather choose to be burried when I check out.

Buried, maybe a headplate over my grave, but without a coffin, so I am able to decompose and fertilize new growth naturally over time.

say boness feed erthh thy do evn food or floerss boness let thm grow thy do

I've dug up a link about it for convenience/ Tree
Not entirely sure if its a thing already, or still stuck at design stages.

I would prefer to be cremated. Grieving people can often spend their lives thinking constantly of the state of decay their loved one is in underground.
I think its a closure (in one way) to be cremated

It is not my intention to gross anyone out, but most people who die in the U.S. receive a post-mortem examination, commonly called an autopsy. An in many autopsies they remove organs from your body and may even remove your brain, to examine them for cause of death, etc. Usually the only people who are not autopsied are those who die in a hospital, nursing home, or who are recently under a doctors care, but even they may be autopsied. Regardless, even when it is obvious why a person died they can still be autopsied to make sure of the cause of death.

Often after an autopsy, organs are placed back into the chest cavity in no particular order, unless they are specified for scientific study. then they are kept in a jar filled with fluid at the morgue. Organs are also removed if indicated for donation on the person’s driver’s license. Therefore, disposal of human remains, either buried or cremated, are frequently not in the same condition as they were when the person died. Often an autopsy is court ordered and the family has no say in it. In the U.S., people are autopsied regardless whether they are to be buried, cremated, or otherwise disposed.

If the body is going to be buried, often the mortuary will embalm the body and do some cosmetic work on the face and head of the body, unless it is going to be a closed casket funeral, then the cosmetic work is skipped. If the body is going to be cremated, there can be large bone fragments, hipbones, skull, etc., that did not disintegrate in the cremation process, although after some cremations the crematorium has the equipment to crush those large bones into ashes. However, sometimes the entire body composition is not put in an urn because large bones that did not, or could not, be crushed completely, and those bones are otherwise discarded. It depends on the equipment available at the mortuary or crematorium. Metals in the body, such as pace-makers, artificial limbs or joints, knees, etc., are usually removed before cremation.

I have seen lots of autopsies and my first apartment after leaving the army was in a mortuary. I was an ambulance paramedic and my boss rented me an apartment in a mortuary which he owned. The embalming room was right across the hall outside the door of my apartment. But I slept very well at night.

do in uk 2 if its a sudenn detht hy do dad had a p/mon him wish wz full of liess it wz
evn my cuzzrn its a nrsee saed it wz full ofliess she did

What ever is the cheapest

I want to be cremated and have my ashes buried.

I have offered any or all of my organs for medical research. I hope they help in some way and as for what's left, what's not needed or useful, that can all go in a big fire, presumably the least-expensive way to be rid of all the useless bits. :D

I will be cremated after my organs are donated. Then my ashes will be spread around the perimeter of my property.

I say if one wants to pay respects to a person to do so in life. To me it is unnatural to embalm a person and lay him/her out on display. It doesn't feel like the person I once knew and overall it all seems so surreal. I respect each person's decision to make their own choice though.

My parents already prepaid for their funerals and have a stone already up with etching of their faces on them. At my grandmother's funeral my mother told everyone to gather around grandma's casket for a group picture. Again, surreal and odd. But it made my mother happy so that's all that matters.

Hello

There is another option out there at times "Donate Body to Science" its something I have laid out as a possible plan for mine. I have no issues but being cremated, but I would like my ashes in a box at a graveyard. Just because its a place to call home....not that our Spirit stays there just nice to have a "hole in the wall" so to speak.

Its not like the old days where you can have a resting place inside a church that others literally "walk all over you". I did struggle with that idea.

Lynn

I donated my body to science and then turn the body to ash.

I told my wife that if I go first I want to be cremated...than I want my ashes loaded into a canon and fired out into the Gulf Of Mexico.

One last wild ride baby!!!!!

my dad usd 2 jokee he did longss im dead or dnt feal it u can hid my body in gardn or undr floor bordss he did only prob s h9s senses of hummerss rubd ff on me lol
i no now its soulss i usee our bodyss thy do

That's a big fear of mine. There have been stories of people waking up at their own funerals. What if those people would not have woken up until after their funeral? *shudders*

When I'm dead I want to stay dead. It's not that I don't want to be alive, I just don't want any surprises~! lol :D

A number of people here have indicated “donating their body to science,” and that might include donating their body to a medical school to be used for practice and instruction for medical students. Medical schools usually take the entire physical body. Most medical schools will embalm the body and use it repeatedly to instruct students until it starts to decay. Although the skeleton, including the skull, etc., are usually kept for an indefinite period of time and used for instruction.

It was also mentioned here about being buried alive; rest assured if you die in the U.S. and receive an autopsy, your body will be dead before they bury it. If you do not receive an autopsy, that is another story. I have seen people wake up in the morgue, before an autopsy, after a doctor had pronounced them dead. There are also stories of people being buried alive, or placed in a cremation furnace, and then waking up before the fire is turned on.

In the U.S., there is “clinical death “and “brain death.” Clinical death is the cessation of blood circulation and breathing, while brain death is the cessation, or interruption, of brain activity. Biological death occurs when there is no more activity in the brain and the heart, but a person can still be kept alive on machines if the family so desires, or it is indicated in their previously submitted medical directive or Last-Will & Testament, etc. Still, in my opinion, there is a blurred line between what constitutes life and what constitutes death. There are people who are brain dead but they are still alive because their heart and lungs are still functioning on their own without the help of a machine.

These are things that people indicate in a medical directive, i.e. if you are brain dead do you still want to be kept alive, or if your body can not draw breath and pump blood on its own, do you want to be kept alive on machines, etc. There are lots of such scenarios. I have worked with patients who were in a coma for a very long time, months or even years, and they are still alive, although usually bed-ridden and kept alive by machines. I think it is important to not only indicate how you want to dispose of your body at the time of death, but also do you want to be kept alive if you are in a coma, have no brain activity, etc. End of life decisions that others, loved ones, your physician, attorney, etc., may be helpful for them to know.

All good advice, Starman. I have a signed medical directive along with witnesses for that document that states I am to be taken off of life support for the various reasons you mentioned. If one doesn't have something like this, next of kin decide ones fate.

i usd 2 be terfid of bean crematedd i did thn sean thngs on tv pepepe bean bured alivee r suvird it tramdisedd thn 1s it did died berdeu alivee i feal lk a rottenn dethh i do i no cremtsonn yore soul still gosee in 2 spirtt woldd it duz

A lot of people just don’t realize the value of a “Medical Directive” until it is too late. Not everyone dies immediately and some are left trapped in their body, from an injury or illness, without any way to express themselves or move. I have talked to patients who were once in a coma and then they woke up, and many told me that they could hear, and sometimes see, everything that is taking place around their physical body, in their hospital room, etc., even though they themselves could not move or speak.

I find it interesting that traditionally Buddhists will wait anywhere from three to over one-hundred days before cremating or burying the deceased, and it is my understanding that they do this to help the deceased person’s consciousness leave this Earthy plane and go into the light. They talk to the body during this period of time to help encourage that deceased person’s consciousness to let go.

Traditionally Jews will bury their dead in a plain wood box that is not air tight; and will deteriorate into the earth along with the body. Unlike most caskets in the U.S. that are ornamental and even air tight. Jewish Law is against cremation. As a side note, in an air tight casket, like those mostly used in the U.S., the body turns to mush and is not allowed to dissolve into the earth. An I don’t understand why here in the U.S. caskets are made for comfort with lots of padding, etc. The person is dead, what’s up with the comfort? The casket is usually the most expensive item in an American funeral.

Traditionally Muslims will bury their dead as soon as possible, usually within 24-hours of death if possible, and during this time the body is never left alone. Traditional Muslims do not believe in embalming, they see it as disrespecting the body. An they often do not use caskets, they just place the body directly in the ground without putting it in a box or coffin.

How a person’s body is disposed of is often dictated by their religion, philosophy, or culture. However, sometimes it is dictated by the law of the land where that person will have their final resting place. I was exposed to a lot of death in the late 1960’s and started studying death and dying in the 1970’s, so I feel like I have a lot to share in regards to the physical death of the human body. Although, I do not consider myself to be an expert on anyone else’s death.

Starman I didn't read your entire informative post so please forgive if this is a repeat, but one also has to go to your hospital with the documents so they have a copy of them in your file.

As Blackraven mentioned, the medical directive form has to bear the signatures of two to three witnesses; these people witness you signing that form, and you can give a copy to one, or more, of your witnesses. The witnesses can be family members, your physician, friends, etc. I gave a copy of my medical directive to one of my witnesses, and also a copy to the VA, because as a military veteran I get most of my healthcare from the VA, and my final resting place here on earth will be at a VA cemetery.

The VA scanned my medical directive form into my computerized medical records that they have on file. Many hospitals will also scan the form into a patients computerized records. I also have a typed and signed note in my wallet, right behind my drivers license, which reads "in the event of my death please contact" and the name, and phone number, of my physician, my County Veterans Service Officer, etc.

As a former ambulance paramedic, and having worked in hospital emergency rooms, I know when a person dies, either at the scene or in an ER, they look in the person's wallet, or purse, to get some identifying information and information on who to contact, and they remove that card or other info from the deceased persons wallet or purse. The people I have listed on the note in my wallet know about my medical directive and my Last-Will, which is also on file.

So what I have shared here are just some suggestions, putting a note in your wallet, etc. There are lots of other ways to do this, keeping in mind that the most convenient and readily accessible way is probably the best way. A lot of people don't want their body lying in a morgue for a long time because no one has claimed their body, or having a doctor who does not know your wishes make decisions for you if you can not make those decisions for your self. The note in my wallet gives these professionals some guidance in such cases.

P.S. Some veterans wear dog tags with info on who to contact, I have also seen kids wearing dog tags with next of kin contact info, their medical condition info, etc. Medical bracelets and necklaces are also popular.

I wear a Medical Alert bracelet with my contact number on it.

Creamation, after I donate my body to whoever needs it. My physical body will be useless to me after death. If my body can be useful after death let it be.

I will be buried after religious rituals as there are no descendants to take care of my wishes of cremation.

Namaskar

Cremation with my ashes scattered, so my body can go back to the earth from where I came :smile:

This is something I've always thought about. I would rather be cremated and have my ashes scattered at sea. I've never felt comfortable with the idea of being buried not sure why.

Cremation feels more free and inline with my spirit.