How To Arrange A Simple Burial

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Q. Are funerals necessary?

A. Survivors have important social and emotional needs which should not be ignored. A funeral is one way of meeting some of these needs.

Q. Are there other ways?

A. Yes. Disposition of the body can be made immediately after death and a memorial service held later.

Q. What is the difference?

A. In a funeral the center of attention is the dead body; the emphasis is on death. In a memorial service the center of concern is the personality of the individual who has died, and the emphasis is on life. In addition a memorial service generally involves less expense and can be held in a greater variety of locations.

Q. What are memorial services like?

A. They vary, taking into account the religious customs of the family and the personal relationships of the one who has died. The distinctive thing is that they stress the ongoing qualities of the person's life rather than his death. Each service can be worked out to meet the needs and circumstances of the particular family.

Q. Is there any essential difference etween neral societies and memorial societies?

A. No Both types of service are arranged by most societies. In every case, how-ever the family is encouraged to make the type of arrangements most congenial to its background and religious beliefs.

Q. Is embalming mandatory?

A. If the body is to be kept several days for a funeral service or—in some cases—when it is to be transported by common carrier, yes. Otherwise embalming serves no useful purpose and except in one or two states is not legally required.

Q. Why then is embalming usually practiced in this country?

A. Funeral directors assume that unless otherwise advised, there will be viewing of the body, and a service in its presence, and that embalming and "restoration" are desired. If this is not the case, the funeral director can be instructed to omit embalming.

Q. What appropriate disposition can be made of a body?

A. There are three alternatives:

1. Earth burial was once the simplest and most economical arrangement. With increasing population, rising land values, and cost of caskets, vaults, and other items usually required, it is becoming more and more costly.

2. Cremation, a clean orderly method of returning the body to the elements, is economical and is rapidly increasing in use.

3. Bequeathal to a medical school performs a valuable service and saves expense. In many areas there is a shortage of bodies for the proper training of doctors. Many public-spirited people leave their bodies for this purpose. A number of body parts can now be transplanted or otherwise used to promote medical research, restore sight, or save a life. To facilitate the gift (of body parts at time of death, a "Uniform Anatomical Gift Act" has recently been passed by most states and provinces.

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