Green Funerals

[weeder]

When Nate on Six Feet Under requested a Green Funeral, or Burial, I wondered if it was legal, and I was amazed. Now this morning, I sat eating breakfast in a little hippy joint called The Little Grill. Its great by the way. Vegeterian food, opened mike nights, and interesting save the earth publications to read, So, I am reading The Appalacian Voice, and I stumble across an article about Ramsey Creek Preserve. Dr, Campbell a native of South Carolina. On a piece of land in the northwest corner, by the Blue Ridge Mountains, Dr, Campbell is promoting and doing Green Burials. No funeral home. No embalming, often no casket, Loved ones of the deceased wash the body, transport it to Ramsey Creek, often dig the grave themselves, and opt for either a shroud, or simple homemade box. At Ramsey Creek the cost for burial ranges between 2,500.00 to 5,000.00 as apposed to 11to 15,000.00 for a standard american funeral and burial. The premise is ashes to ashes, dust to dust, Funeral Directors are furious. Most people do not know that it is perfectly legal to bury their own dead. Bodies can be held on ice, visitation can take place at home, caskets do not have to come from a funeral home, and not one state requires embalming. People are loving Ramsey Creek A green burial is in close keeping with many peoples spiritual feelings. Loved ones leave the burial site feeling uplifted, not sad. When they come back to visit they walk along wooded trails, and meadows. I think this is great. Another expose into the way people are taken advantage of, in a time of grief, and duped into believing they have to come up with mega bucks to care for their deceased. This tale of mine, come on the heels of learning that 2 huge funeral homes, housing their own crematoriums are being built now, in my little town. Death is big business. I am not saying that a traditional funeral should not be someones choice. But, I think the public needs to be made aware of the facts regarding the choices available to them.

[KB.]

I've never paid 11 grand for anything; and I won't start with my funeral. I've got my pyre already built, and the wood is aging so that there will be a nice mesquite smell in the air that day.

Good post, very interesting to read. I wish I had a spot around here with an open mic night.

[weeder]

We have open night mike in many places here. And I had no intention of being embalmed, or buried, even before I met " Nate, and Dr. Campbell"

[KB.]

weeder;647017 wrote: We have open night mike in many places here. And I had no intention of being embalmed, or buried, even before I met " Nate, and Dr. Campbell"


Really, I mean who wants to rot anymore than we have to? We don't need no water, let the mfer burn.

[weeder]

Your a pissa.....

[KB.]

weeder;647021 wrote: Your a pissa.....


You calling me a **** ant? Thats my favorite, how did you know? **** is not a bad word. **** is a bad word.

[Mia]

In England the yobs are desecrating more and more graveyards just for a laugh.Can you imagine the pain that it causes the relatives to see there loved ones resting place smashed to pieces.They can burn me and chuck me in the rubbish bin if they wish.Funerals are way too expensive.

There is such a thing as a woodland burial.They put you in a biogradable coffin and plant a tree over you as a memory.

It is true some people even bury there loved ones in their back gardens and it is legal.I think it would make it a bit difficult to sell your house though.

Mia

[weeder]

KB.;647025 wrote: You calling me a **** ant? Thats my favorite, how did you know? **** is not a bad word. **** is a bad word.


Pissa is a Yankee term, meaning.... you make me laugh. Ive had to explain this, many times over the years here. Its an honor:wah:

[KB.]

weeder;647113 wrote: Pissa is a Yankee term, meaning.... you make me laugh. Ive had to explain this, many times over the years here. Its an honor:wah:


I'm familiar with the term, I just wanted to pull your leg for a bit. Thank you by the way.

[CrazyCruizChick]

When I know its my time to go I will rest in my favorite place and hopefully no one will take my place.

[weinbeck]

Mia;647042 wrote: In England the yobs are desecrating more and more graveyards just for a laugh.Can you imagine the pain that it causes the relatives to see there loved ones resting place smashed to pieces.They can burn me and chuck me in the rubbish bin if they wish.Funerals are way too expensive.

There is such a thing as a woodland burial.They put you in a biogradable coffin and plant a tree over you as a memory.

It is true some people even bury there loved ones in their back gardens and it is legal.I think it would make it a bit difficult to sell your house though.

Mia


When I go, it will be a very quiet affair. Due to a lack of close friends and relatives, I don't think there'd even be a dozen people all told, but that suits me fine because as I said before, the one thing that really turns my stomach is the hypocracy of relatives kissing and embrasing one another and promising to keep in touch, which they'll faithfully repeat at the next "family" funeral. My wife will decide who is to attend, and her word will be final. Many will not even be aware I've passed on. I don't even want a headstone. Just a straight slab with the words: Nothing can be achieved without God, and nothing cannot be achieved with God.

If five years later somebody asks: "By the way, what happened to Fred?" and somebody replies: "I don't know, I think he kicked the bucket a few years back." I'd be happy, because apart from our direct loved ones, none of us mean all that to work colleagues or even distant cousins, for that matter.

[RedGlitter]

My headstone is already made, my grave already decided. I'll be in the family plot with my mom and my dad. I felt that even if I got married, no one would ever stick by me the way my parents have. We came in as a family, we grew up as one and we will go out the same way. It's a far cry from the pine box up on a hill I had always wanted but that's okay.

Question: about embalming. If I die in Oklahoma, can I be shipped back to Arizona without being embalmed? I can't find any statutes on this.

[Bez]

I think that there are more options than people think. There are lots of bio-degradeable coffins around. I like the idea of a Green funeral. I've chosen music by Andrea Boccelli.



I want to be cremated and my ashes put in the biodegradable casket below. Then I'll be happy to rest with my mum and dad.

There are some beautiful caskets too...www.ecopod.co.uk

[Imladris]

I was horrified to see the price of funerals in the US. $11k - scandalous. Over here it is expensive enough averaging at around £1500 ($3000) locally. More in more urban areas. Unfortunately it's the fees that put the costs up, everyone wants to take their cut - doctors, crematorium, ministers, churches, cemeteries etc.



Someone once worked out that it takes 40 man hours to do a funeral, it seems a lot but when you include the making of the coffin, arranging the funeral, cleaning cars, booking vicars etc, doing all the paperwork and the day of the funeral it's about right.



For anyone interested in green funerals the Natural Death Handbook is a good place to start www.naturaldeath.org.uk.



If you want to have a woodland burial make sure you go to a registered site - anyone can set them up so you want to make sure it will be accessible for visits.



As for burial in the back garden - yes you can do it but there may be a covenant on you house deeds that prevent it and if you move house you can't dig granny up to take with you without a home office exumation order!! (that is if you can sell the house in the first place)

[Bez]

The cost of funerals is between 2k and 3k down here in the south. I like the idea of a Woodland Burial if they bury/ scatter ashes. I might look into this.

Thanks for the info.Imaldris

[weeder]

RedGlitter;647434 wrote: My headstone is already made, my grave already decided. I'll be in the family plot with my mom and my dad. I felt that even if I got married, no one would ever stick by me the way my parents have. We came in as a family, we grew up as one and we will go out the same way. It's a far cry from the pine box up on a hill I had always wanted but that's okay.

Question: about embalming. If I die in Oklahoma, can I be shipped back to Arizona without being embalmed? I can't find any statutes on this.


It is my understanding that you can be shipped. There are time contraints attached to this. An unembalmed body can only be around for so long. I learned a couple of years ago that diseases present on a corpse can be communicable. So, arrangements for shipping have to be made fast, and I would guess they are costly.

[weeder]

My flower shop in Georgia evolved to the place where we were making the bulk of our revenue on funeral work. To the dismay of the other local florists, I had the contract to do the work for pretty much all of the local funeral homes. It was an amazing experience. I had a very close relationship with all of the funeral directors. In Georgia ( my part anyway) viewings and burials were still segregated. I was stunned. We had small local " Black Funeral Homes) And we had one large one ( Only whites used their services) owned by the underwood corporation. The small ones would have 1, or maybe two bodies that they were handling. The big one could have as many as 10 viewings going on at a time. In the small homes, the family would agree to turn over life insurance to pay for the funeral. If there wasnt any insurance the directors would " Hold the body" indefinately. At the large home... financing was available... with interest of course. The eye opener for me came when the large corporation approached me to make a deal with the flowers. They wanted to be a one stop, buy everything, funeral home. I would be the reccommended florist. The funeral pieces were numbered in a book. There was a 20 to 40% kick back fee folded into the pieces that went to the corporation. Many times poor people ( family members of the deceased) would come in to see me, struggling to find a way to have flowers for their loved ones. I would tell them that no matter what they had to spend, there would be something lovely on the casket. Because the small local owners gave me so much business, I spoke to them privately, and told them that if there every was a case where there wasnt any money... they should let me know. Then the girls and myself made sure that there was a casket cover there from THe Garden Shop.... with a card expressing our sympathy for their loss. Those donated casket covers made me feel so good.... Often. the family would come in after the funeral, and there would be hugs from strangers, all around. In death, as in life, it never should be all about money. Grief brings people together.. it makes people human.. often it is a way for people to connect. A Green Burial takes many of the $$$$ out of the process, and reconnects us to the earth. I hope more people begin to opt for this kind of good bye.

[Imladris]

weeder;647570 wrote: My flower shop in Georgia evolved to the place where we were making the bulk of our revenue on funeral work. To the dismay of the other local florists, I had the contract to do the work for pretty much all of the local funeral homes. It was an amazing experience. I had a very close relationship with all of the funeral directors. In Georgia ( my part anyway) viewings and burials were still segregated. I was stunned. We had small local " Black Funeral Homes) And we had one large one ( Only whites used their services) owned by the underwood corporation. The small ones would have 1, or maybe two bodies that they were handling. The big one could have as many as 10 viewings going on at a time. In the small homes, the family would agree to turn over life insurance to pay for the funeral. If there wasnt any insurance the directors would " Hold the body" indefinately. At the large home... financing was available... with interest of course. The eye opener for me came when the large corporation approached me to make a deal with the flowers. They wanted to be a one stop, buy everything, funeral home. I would be the reccommended florist. The funeral pieces were numbered in a book. There was a 20 to 40% kick back fee folded into the pieces that went to the corporation. Many times poor people ( family members of the deceased) would come in to see me, struggling to find a way to have flowers for their loved ones. I would tell them that no matter what they had to spend, there would be something lovely on the casket. Because the small local owners gave me so much business, I spoke to them privately, and told them that if there every was a case where there wasnt any money... they should let me know. Then the girls and myself made sure that there was a casket cover there from THe Garden Shop.... with a card expressing our sympathy for their loss. Those donated casket covers made me feel so good.... Often. the family would come in after the funeral, and there would be hugs from strangers, all around. In death, as in life, it never should be all about money. Grief brings people together.. it makes people human.. often it is a way for people to connect. A Green Burial takes many of the $$$$ out of the process, and reconnects us to the earth. I hope more people begin to opt for this kind of good bye.


I also have a flower shop (as you know!) and next-door is the funeral directors where the other half works. I do the majority of their funeral pieces unless the family knows another florist. And yes, I have to give commission.



I hate to see a funeral with no flowers but it doesn't happen too often, usually it's by request. I think because the costs are so different over here most people can find some money for flowers. In fact it's sometimes the people who are claiming benefits and state help with the funeral costs who are the ones that spend the most on lavish flowers - that to me seems wrong, if they have money it should go towards the funeral costs first and save the taxpayer.



I'm doing flowers for a green funeral next week, I can't use anything that won't break down so no plastic trays or floral foam, the bamboo coffin will be garlanded and a tied sheaf of flowers placed on top, simple and inexpensive but looks really nice.

[weeder]

That is very, very, nice. My average casket cover for the corporate funeral home was 275.00. All the way up from there. Straight roses could run anywhere from 425.00 to 600.00. The casket covers for the privately owned small homes were a standard 140.00, but other than the color. flower selection was left up to us. A good way to rotate flowers, as they only had to last for about 24 hours.

[RedGlitter]

weeder;647570 wrote: I spoke to them privately, and told them that if there every was a case where there wasnt any money... they should let me know. Then the girls and myself made sure that there was a casket cover there from THe Garden Shop.... with a card expressing our sympathy for their loss. Those donated casket covers made me feel so good.... Often. the family would come in after the funeral, and there would be hugs from strangers, all around. In death, as in life, it never should be all about money. Grief brings people together.. it makes people human.. often it is a way for people to connect.


That was so good of you, Weeder.

Truly kind. :-6

[weeder]

Giving equals receiving..... and it definately does feel much better to give than to receive. It makes the world go round

[RedGlitter]

It upsets me how some people will go on about flowers at a service being a "waste."

I say no they're not. They're signs of life and signs of honor and love bestowed upon the dead and bereaved. I know when the first flowers arrived at my house for my mom, well, you wouldn't think a basket of daisies could make a girl so happy. And they kept coming. They were reminders that I wasn't in this alone. And the arrangements at the service were just as important. I wish my mom had had far more flowers than she did but I'm grateful for those she had. And the coffin cover we bought was fantastic. We wanted nothing that spoke of death and not a lily one. Mom never liked them because of the death nod. But what we got for her was a mixed cover with all colors; lots of purple and orange and red and even big sunflowers.We asked for something festive to celebrate her life. I was so pleased with it.

[weeder]

FLOWERS ARE NEVER A WASTE!!!!!!!!

Flowers are love. Some of the most heartfelt moments in my life, have been marked by the flowers Ive received. Story of how I became a florist......

When I was around 8 or 10, my parents took me into the flower shop to pick up my communion bouquet. I loved the smell of the place. I longed to be part of the excitement that was going on in the back room......

My bouquet came out..... Baby white carnations, gathered together, in a lace collar sprinkled with silver glitter( tacky !!! hahahah) all tied together with white satin streamers..... I was in love!!!!! The owner said " Come back when you are 14, and I will give you a job. I never forgot what he said. It was in my blood. And there are many other flower related stories in my life.