This week we would like to take the opportunity to honor those who have and are serving our country. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
New on the blog this week:
Hospice in Prison? As Inmates Age, Louisiana’s Notorious Angola Prison Tends To Their Elderly
WEEKLY NEWS 11/10/2015: Honoring our Veterans
Ceremonies remember veterans whose remains were unclaimed
11/10/2015–philly.com: Sometimes they arrive in a cardboard box, sent by a funeral director who has become the closest thing to family. The mortician packs up the cremated remains of honorably discharged veterans and mails them to Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Bucks County. There, one day each month, dozens of people gather, call out the veterans’ names, and give them a proper burial… Read the full story
12 Photos Show The Realities Of Living & Dying In Hospice Care
11/09/2015–refinery29.com: Photographer Daniel Schumann first went to St. Francis Hospice near Dusseldorf, Germany, in order to fulfill the country’s civil service requirement. “Until a couple of years ago,” he explains in an email, “we had to do either military service or civil service in Germany… Read the full story
How Researchers Will Figure Out Why So Many Middle-aged White People Are Dying
11/08/2015–nymag.com: It’s not often that economics research makes national headlines the way a paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences did last week. But most papers don’t posit, as this one did, that America is in the midst of a decades-long wave of sickness and death with little comparison in its modern history… Read the full story
>Related: Why are middle-aged white Americans dying faster than others?
Growing number of women enter funeral industry
11/08/2015–nwaonline.com: Elise Pennington spent 19 years caring for people as a nurse. Now she is part of the growing number of women working their way into the funeral business. “This is where I am supposed to be,” said the 38-year-old Bentonville woman. She is a funeral science student, learning how to be a funeral director and embalmer. “This is my calling, and I’ve never felt more at peace… Read the full story
A Couple’s Deep Love And Dying Wish Celebrated for National Hospice Month
11/6/2015–philadelphia.cbslocal.com: An emotional and inspiring story of true love is being celebrated for November which is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. Marty and John DeMucci were high school sweethearts, married 68 years ago. He was in the air force in World War II , photographed with a plane named after his beloved. Their son Angelo says, “The name on the plane is what they used to call my mom- Marty… Read the full story
Biocremation Could Bring Dead People Back to American Cities
11/6/2015–inverse.com: There are lots of ways to get rid of bodies — acid baths, pigs farms, public waterways — but very few legal options. For the most part, Americans really only have two: burial and cremation. People are increasingly opting for the latter, but neither process is particularly suited to an urban environment, which is a problem as urban populations swell… Read the full story
Vault full of skeletons found under Washington Square Park
11/5/2015–nypost.com: City workers made a stunning discovery this week when they stumbled upon a 19th century burial vault – which then led to the finding of a second tomb – containing skeletal remains beneath the edge of Washington Square Park. Contractors for the Department of Design and Construction were attempting to dig up a 100-year-old water main near the park to replace them with brand new water main distribution lines when they unearthed the vault… Read the full story
