Guest blogger: April

The following is a guest post by my sister April:

I went to a funeral home for my Death and Dying class. I went on a tour and the General Manager answered a bunch of questions. Here is what I learned...

1. In 1992 there were only 7% of people getting cremated and now it is 50-55%.
2. 40-50% of people buy caskets before they die.
3. Law does not require embalming.
4. Spouses make decisions about the deceased if there is not a will. If there is not a spouse then adult children make decisions but they ALL have to agree.
5. They put cotton over the Y incision after autopsies followed by plastic to keep any leakage out.
6. My friend is buried at this funeral home and when the funeral home told her mom to bring clothes, they told her to bring a shirt with long sleeves. I asked why. He said because of something called “Skin Slip”. This is part of the decay process.
7. Most the time the funeral home dress and apply make-up to the deceased. Accept of course for LDS faith. He did mention the LDS faith!
8. It was very hard for me to tour this funeral home because my friend's viewing and funeral was there. I did not think it was going to be hard until I was on my way. It was hard. Especially when you see certain areas that are difficult to see in general without knowing a loved one has been there. It was very interesting though.