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Category: Advice Column – answers to reader questions

Missing jewelry—what to do?

Sadly, sometimes families do tell us of lost or possibly stolen jewelry or personal effects. There is little to nothing that can be done after the fact. FCA believes a simple inventory protocol, in writing, with pictures and cross-checks, should be a basic standard at all funeral homes and crematories. Read more

What’s your metaphor for death?

By Karen Smith, Ph.D. “What we do to the earth we do to ourselves” is an adage many people have come to believe. How we connect to nature matters and can have benefits for our health, according to New York Times journalist David Suziki.
Do you believe your living and dying are part of a larger natural procss in which we all play a role? Read more

Grave decoration: what’s reasonable?

Dear FCA, In January 2007, my stepson passed away. The family has gone to the cemetery weekly since then, decorating and cleaning the marker area as well as trimming the grass surrounding the marker with no opposition from the cemetery owners or the management. Read more