The Family Plot Blog
Friday Funeral Films: Death at a Funeral
There are two versions of Death at a Funeral, and both deal with issues like writing a eulogy, paying for a funeral, and holding a funeral at home.
Quality Coffins from The Old Pine Box
Anyone who's ever said "Just bury me in an old pine box" needs to know Dienna Genther. After 20 years as a carpenter, shipwright, cabinet maker and fine woodworker, she turned her considerable talents to making caskets and coffins. She makes beautiful, affordable, functional and finely-crafted wooden containers for final disposition. Dienna was born and raised in the state of Washington, where she played with wood as a child. She became a...
Pearl Harbor Survivors Return to Rest in Peace
The survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the USS Arizona went on to live full lives. At least 33 of these survivors after their death have had their cremated remains returned to rest with their shipmates. This YouTube video, Eternal Peace: Interment Aboard the USS Arizona, details the loving military memorial services held at the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Hawaii. Servicemen who survived the...
A Fun Mortuary Novelty Gift Site
Looking for items that put the "fun" in funerals? Check out PushinDaisies.com, a website that specializes in funny and bizarre items related to death. Want a Grim Reaper? They've got them in spades. Need a skeleton in your closet? Check this site out! PushinDaisies.com Pushin Daisies came to life in mid May of 2003 with the slogan "You'll love what we dig up for you." It is owned and operated in Allenhurst, NJ by a licensed funeral director...
Friday Funeral Films: Bernie
Bernie (2012 PG-13) is a comedy based on a true story of a funeral director who takes up with a much-hated wealthy widow in the small east Texas town of Carthage. She becomes possessive to the point where he loses his sweet nature, kills her, then goes to great lengths to create the illusion that she’s still alive.
ICCFA Responds to Money Article
In response to Money Magazine's article "The High Cost of Saying Goodbye" (Part One in the November 2012 issue), Robert M. Fells, the Executive Director and General Counsel of ICCFA, the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association, had a few choice words to say. I was cited as an expert in the story, which you can download from AGoodGoodbye.com. Here's what Mr. Fells had to say: I've learned to detect a media hit job on the...
Greening Final Arrangements with Passages International
"Most people don't know when someone dies, they have green options," says Darren Crouch, president of Passages International. "When you go to the grocery store, you know there's organic produce. When you buy a car, you know there are hybrids you can choose. However, green options are very hard to think about when you are dealing with a death in the family." Passages International, an industry leader in green burial products and eco-friendly...
Friday Funeral Film: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is an excellent movie that addresses aging issues and it shows Hindu funeral rites. Plus, there's great humor throughout the movie. Seven English seniors experience life changes which result in their coincidental departure to be the first guests at the enticingly-pitched Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a hotel "for the elderly and beautiful" in Jaipur, India. The characters are: Recently widowed housewife Evelyn (Judi...
Engage With Grace This Thanksgiving
This Thanksgiving, with the family gathered 'round, have a conversation about end-of-life issues. Please consider these thoughts from my friends at Engage With Grace, eloquently explaining why this is a very good thing to do. Engage With Grace One of our favorite things we ever heard Steve Jobs say is… ‘If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right.’ We love it for three reasons: 1) It reminds all of us...
Tips on Having an Attitude of Gratitude at Thanksgiving
Here's a guest blog post that has some great information and tips for cultivating an attitude of gratitude this Thanksgiving. This comes courtesy of Debra Green, Ph.D. "Be joyful even when you have considered all the facts." -Wendell Berry Gratitude isn't a new idea; most spiritual philosophies emphasize gratitude and compassion for others. But in recent years gratitude has shifted from being an idea to a practical tool that we can use to...
A Thanksgiving Prayer
Something to consider saying before your Thanksgiving Day feast. A Thanksgiving Prayer Oh, God, when I have food, help me to remember the hungry; When I have work, help me to remember the jobless; When I have a warm home, help me to remember the homeless; When I am without pain, help me to remember those who suffer; And remembering, help me to destroy my complacency and bestir my compassion. Make me concerned enough to help, by word and deed,...
Friday Funeral Film: The Descendants
Today's Friday Funeral Film, The Descendants starring George Clooney, helps start funeral planning conversations around advance directives and end-of-life issues. It also shows how a party can be the center of a good goodbye BEFORE someone dies. You also get a good look at cremated remains, if you've never seen them up close. Hawaiian land baron Matt King (Clooney) has been having marital issues with his wife Elizabeth. The film opens with her...
More on Alkaline Hydrolysis
There's an opinion column in today's Roanoke Times titled "Flush and bone: the future of alkaline hydrolysis in Virginia." It was written by Phil Olson, an assistant professor in the Department of Science and Technology in Society at Virginia Tech. Not only does he provide a great overview of state laws regarding the use of this emerging disposition method, he describes how it works and its environmental benefits. Here are a few paragraphs from...
Comparing Cremation and Alkaline Hydrolysis
"A clean green process" is how Jeff Edwards of Edwards Funeral Services describes Aquamation, his term for alkaline hydrolysis. In the YouTube video below, he shows his unit and explains how it is used for human bodies. Edwards is a funeral industry pioneer in the use alkaline hydrolysis for the disposition of bodies. He started offering it at his funeral home in Columbus, Ohio at the beginning of 2011 as an alternative to flame-based...
Remorse and Mortality
Erica Brown, a scholar in residence at the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, wrote a thought-provoking opinion piece in Sunday's New York Times. Titled "Death: A Nice Opportunity for Regret," it ponders the combination of regret, repentance and the consideration of our own mortality. She wrote, "We rarely connect regret to death, but then we rarely connect death to anything because we'd rather talk about grocery shopping, gardening and...
Friday Funeral Film: The Six Wives of Henry Lefay
The Six Wives of Henry Lefay provides a lighthearted lesson in the serious business of funeral planning, wills, trusts and estate planning. It can open the door to discussions of funeral plans, inheritance, business succession, trusts, and pre-nup agreements.
Poem on Mortality: Notice by Steve Kowit
At today's Doorways of Santa Fe meeting, a gentleman who goes by the name Mudman shared this poem. It's a reminder that living and dying are all part of the same process. Notice - by Steve Kowit This evening, the sturdy Levi's I wore every day for over a year & which seemed to the end in perfect condition, suddenly tore. How or why I don't know, but there it was: a big rip at the crotch. A month ago my friend Nick walked off a racquetball...
ABQ Death Cafe November 7
Will the results of the election tomorrow prompt thoughts of mortality for you? Come and talk it out at the second Death Cafe in Albuquerque! This opportunity to talk about whatever is on your heart or mind about death will take place on Wednesday, November 7. So far, we have six people signed up to attend. The objective of Death Cafe is “To increase awareness of death with a view toward helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.” At...
Friday Funeral Film: Harold and Maude
http://youtu.be/hR-OojNoVDg By Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death® Whenever I mention funeral films, invariably those of the baby boomer generation cite Harold and Maude, a cult classic comedy film from 1971. Ironically, while this movie is remembered for the main characters attending the funerals of people they don't know (like me with my 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge), there are only two funerals depicted during the film. The message of...
Day of the Dead TV Interview
Yesterday, I was a guest on New Mexico Style, the morning talk show on KASA-TV in Albuquerque. Hosts Nikki and Kristen and I talked about how to build your own Day of the Dead altar or offrenda, to remember our loved ones and invite their spirits for a visit. We also talked about Create a Great Funeral Day, which was October 30, and the upcoming Death Cafe I'll be hosting on November 7. Here's video of the interview: http://youtu.be/dl0DawAg6XI...
Create a Great Funeral Day 2012
October 30, 2012 is the 13th annual Create a Great Funeral Day. Notwithstanding the super storm currently hammering the East Coast at the moment, this is an opportune time to start a funeral planning conversation. It's appropriate that Create a Great Funeral Day comes right before Halloween and the Day of the Dead celebration. Before ghosts can go a-haunting and spirits of the deceased can be celebrated, someone's gotta die. The idea behind...