One of the most common complaints from those that are having to plan a funeral is the high cost of using a funeral home which many assume is their only option for the disposition of remains. However, a new trend is emerging which cuts out the funeral home and instead holds a service at home in a manner that has much in common with funerals from before the Civil War. In Los Angeles, one business is looking to push the trend and offers a myriad on nontraditional services ranging from at home funeral services in which the corpse is not embalmed to witness cremations where loved ones watch the cremation process and even take part by pushing the ignition button. The owners, both former morticians, like to remind people that no state requires that a funeral home service and taking a do it yourself approach can save thousands of dollars and provide a better sense of closure for many. While it is unknown if this trend will find any permanence, the growing numbers of funerals that go hand in hand with an aging population will certainly give those seeking nontraditional methods of body disposal a chance to experiment.
See Claire Martin, Start-Ups Take Rites From the Funeral Home to the Family Home, The New York Times, January 30, 2016.
Special thanks to Lewis Saret for bringing this article to my attention.
