This week we would like to highlight “Wreaths Across America,” a program which ensure our veterans are not forgotten by placing wreaths on more than 900,000 each December. To learn more about the program visit our blog. Also in the news, DIY funerals, a skeleton gets a funeral, how to lower funeral costs.
12/8/15–japantimes.co.jp: Specialists in the fading profession of preparing bodies for funeral and cremation gave a rare glimpse of their skills at the opening of a Tokyo exhibition focused on the business of death and dying. Practitioners of nokan — translated as “encoffinment” — took part in what organizers said was Japan’s first ever contest to demonstrate their techniques, as a pianist and a guitarist played peaceful, relaxing music… Read the full story
12/8/2015–charlestonbusiness.com: Death doesn’t happen on a schedule. People die as the sun rises, and people die under full moons. They die at work, on baseball fields, in nursing homes, at the dinner table and in their cars. Sometimes death is expected. Often it’s a surprise. Occasionally, it’s longed for. Death family business sidebarThe aftermath of death belongs to funeral directors, and their jobs have changed so much over the past century that there are now possibly as many different ways to honor the dead as there are ways to die… Read the full story (Link no longer available)
December 12th is the day that nearly a million wreaths will be laid at the graves of veterans in all 50 states and around the world.
12/7/2015–nydailynews.com: A convoy of a dozen trucks carrying wreaths made in Maine departed Sunday on a mission to honor veterans buried at Arlington National Cemetery. A box truck and 11 tractor-trailers left Columbia Falls with the bulk of the 248,000 wreaths that will be placed on graves, said Susan Patten, a spokeswoman for Wreaths Across America. All told, Wreaths Across America expects to ship more than 900,000 wreaths to veterans’ graves in hundreds of locations in all 50 states and overseas… Read the full story
>>Related: Help ‘Wreaths Across America’ provide wreaths to all markers at Arlington Cemetery
12/7/2015–express.co.uk: Royd Tolkien, 46, was set 50 challenges to do by his brother Mike, 39, following his death from motor neurone disease. The great-grandson of Lord of Rings writer JRR Tolkien said: “Mike was a massive adrenaline junkie – he was a semi-pro paintballer, snowboarder and jumped out of planes, that sort of thing. “I’m more of a cup of tea in the garden sort of person. “Mike wrote a bucket list about all the things he wanted to do but he gave it to me to complete because he knew he would never be able to do those things… Read the full story
12/6/2015–tulsaworld.com: For some, receiving a doctor’s referral for hospice care may finally trigger a desire to get one’s house in order. However, experts say planning for death should not begin when you have less than six months to live, or worse, left for others to sort out. The baby boom generation will certainly bring that point to the forefront… Read the full story
Boulder Threshold Singers such as Sally Kornblith, left, Linda Klein, center, and Louise Knapp sing in private homes, hospitals and retirement communities, like Balfour Senior Living facility in this photo. (Paul Aiken / Staff Photographer) via coloradohometownweekly.com
12/6/2016–coloradohometownweekly.com: Carolyn Kuban’s favorite audience is not in a fancy, famous concert hall. It is a single person, eyes closed, in a private room. Sometimes, Kuban’s harp music is the last sound the person hears. Kuban, of Boulder, plays music for people on their deathbed. “It’s not uncommon for a person to die on the same day I was there, as if the music gave them the last ability to move on,” she says. “Sometimes the people in the room are very demonstrative. Maybe the music gives them permission to cry, because the music is crying itself a little bit… Read the full story
12/6/2015–straitstimes.com: These are two matters most people would not consider putting together: “do-it-yourself” and “funerals”. Yet, that is exactly what a growing number of Americans are setting out to do when their loved ones die. And it is not just making the arrangements without employing a funeral director; some go to the extent of doing the embalming and making the coffins… Read the full story
12/4/2015–huffingtonpost.com: A few days ago, while driving to a movie near his Fort Worth, Texas, neighborhood, Patrick O’Malley suddenly feared for his life. “This could be risky,” O’Malley remembers telling his wife, thinking of the possibility of dying in a sudden, random mass shooting during the screening of he movie “Spotlight.” It was a particularly unusual feeling for O’Malley, a psychotherapist who has spent 36 years guiding patients with severe anxiety. Now, after a spate of mass violence in the U.S. and around the world, O’Malley had to treat himself… Read the full story
Arthur the Skeleton being laid to rest at Haydock Funeral Services in St Helens, Lancs., Photo via metro.co.uk
12/2/2015–metro.co.uk: Generations of schoolchildren and teachers thought ‘Arthur’ the skeleton was just a model – but the bones are actually human remains, and will now be buried. Sandra Dixon, an art technician in Haydock High School in Wigan, had a suspicion ‘Arthur’ was actually real – and investigated. Other art staff had used the ‘model’ skeleton as a teaching aid for 40 years before anyone realised. Dixon said, ‘I remember thinking, “Could this be a real skeleton?”‘ Read the full story
12/1/2015–huffingtonpost.com: Funerals aren’t cheap. You’ll usually spend more than $7,000, and that’s not counting what you or your family will pay for a cemetery plot, monument and flowers. Few people want to think about death, let alone prepare for it, but a little planning can help your family members avoid impulsive decisions while they’re grieving. Many people buy life insurance to ease the burden of final expenses. And making your final wishes known, writing a will and preplanning parts of your funeral can help you manage those expenses… Read the full story
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