Category: Funeral FAQs
Common Funeral Myths
It is perfectly legal in most states to care for the body privately, as a family, without hiring a funeral home. Families can choose to do some or all of the process. A family may want to wash and dress the body and keep it at home for several days as part of a private vigil, only calling the funeral home or crematory when they are ready to let the body go. Read more
“Simple and Cheap” My Father Said
Josephine Black Pesaresi
My father, Hugo L Black, died in 1971. At that time he was 85 years old and the second longest sitting Associate Justice in the history of the United States Supreme Court, having sat on the Court for nearly 35 years. An avid tennis player, he served on his two beloved courts—the Supreme Court and the tennis court— until a few months before his death. Read more
Starting a Funeral Committee in Your Congregation
All major religions have established traditions and rituals for caring for the dead. In days past, the religious community was the focal point of activities at a time of death. Unfortunately, as we became a more dispersed society, we witnessed the emergence of for-profit “chapels,” and the funeral industry took over creating new “traditions.” Read more
Planning a Memorial Service
Embalming: What You Should Know
What is embalming?
Embalming is a physically invasive process, in which special devices are implanted and embalming fluids are injected into the body to temporarily slow its decomposition. The goal is to preserve the body to make it suitable for public display at a funeral, for long-distance transportation, or for medical or scientific purposes such as anatomical research. Read more