Ask a mortician
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LittleHearseDriver wrote: »@ninerbuff Nope, but it wouldn't surprise me if it happened one day.
@_unsteady_ Who is Butch Jones???
@dbanks80 No, knock on wood. It would be a female dog to pick it up though
Who is Butch Jones?!?
Drat! This was like the best thread ever and it suddenly lost it's creditability.1 -
What's the most expensive casket you guys carry?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Have you ever had anyone put something strange in the casket?
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@JaneiR36 When it's slow I catch up on paperwork, clean the preproompreproom, do laundry, and scan files from previous years into the system. We don't solicite to people.
@ninerbuff The most expensive casket we have in $12,000 Bronze
@kschwab0203 One family put a Big Mac and fried in the casket of a really big lady and another put a flash light in because she was scared of the dark11 -
@_unsteady_ If things aren't going right I'll say " Come on, work with me Mr/Mrs _______"
I do a lot of thinking when we have a young person . I think about all the potential that has been lost and wonder how their lives would be different if they wouldn't have died.7 -
My uncle died recently and my cousin found him a couple days after it happened. The police report said rigor had set in...he looked really bloated in the coffin and not like himself at all...is this because it took so long to find him?
Also my dad died around the same time...we had him cremated and the funeral home said they didn't have like a freezer so if we wanted him to wait he'd need embalming...Wouldn't this make the place stinky all sorts of bodies and no refrigeration?0 -
To the OP:
I think both you and this thread are simply nails and I actually have a large measure of gratitude towards you and those of you in your profession. Your kindness towards others is evident through your conversations here today and you are worthy of our highest regard.
.... don't get cocky26 -
Best thread ever! Thanks OP!
The pic of the retort, is that ashes and remains in it?
Guess all the cool questions have been asked.. er I can't think of anything.
Really great to know you are so committed to your profession. I may have to put together a will requesting specifically your services.
I think I want your job.3 -
My uncle died recently and my cousin found him a couple days after it happened. The police report said rigor had set in...he looked really bloated in the coffin and not like himself at all...is this because it took so long to find him?
Also my dad died around the same time...we had him cremated and the funeral home said they didn't have like a freezer so if we wanted him to wait he'd need embalming...Wouldn't this make the place stinky all sorts of bodies and no refrigeration?
I'm sorry about your Dad and Uncle. Losing two family members that close together is tough. Swelling during embalming can be cause by several different factors. When someone dies in their home and lays there in 70 degree temperature it doesn't take long for decomposition to set in. The arterial system begins to weaken and it makes it difficult to inject formaldehyde through the arteries. If an artery blows out the fluid pools in one area (normally the face) and then they look bloated. I hate it when I can't make someone look like themselves. It makes me feel like I let that person and their family down. I don't see why they wanted your Dad to be embalmed unless it was going to take a long to get his paperwork filed. The freshly deceased can stay in a cool air conditioned room for a couple of days just fine. Our funeral home doesn't have a cooler; we just close the embalming room door and turn the AC on high to keep them cold. It works like a charm.
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LittleHearseDriver wrote: »My uncle died recently and my cousin found him a couple days after it happened. The police report said rigor had set in...he looked really bloated in the coffin and not like himself at all...is this because it took so long to find him?
Also my dad died around the same time...we had him cremated and the funeral home said they didn't have like a freezer so if we wanted him to wait he'd need embalming...Wouldn't this make the place stinky all sorts of bodies and no refrigeration?
I'm sorry about your Dad and Uncle. Losing two family members that close together is tough. Swelling during embalming can be cause by several different factors. When someone dies in their home and lays there in 70 degree temperature it doesn't take long for decomposition to set in. The arterial system begins to weaken and it makes it difficult to inject formaldehyde through the arteries. If an artery blows out the fluid pools in one area (normally the face) and then they look bloated. I hate it when I can't make someone look like themselves. It makes me feel like I let that person and their family down. I don't see why they wanted your Dad to be embalmed unless it was going to take a long to get his paperwork filed. The freshly deceased can stay in a cool air conditioned room for a couple of days just fine. Our funeral home doesn't have a cooler; we just close the embalming room door and turn the AC on high to keep them cold. It works like a charm.
Ya i wish they hadn't had my uncle's casket open. It wasn't him.
And dad they said they'd embalm him if my brother's fiancé who was on her way into town from out west wanted to see him. She didn't so they sent him off. I just envisioned a room of stinky people.1 -
Yes ma'am those are ashes and left-over bone fragments.
Thank you so much for your kind words guys, it means a lot. Two months ago I started writing a book about this sort of stuff, but I got discouraged and thought "No one wants to read about this" so I put it on the back burner. Your interest has inspired me to start writing again! It's been fun answering these questions, I can't thank you all enough
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Do start writing again, it is so refreshing to have someone who will openly and honestly answer questions that you've always wondered about but never wanted, or had the opportunity to, ask!7
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LittleHearseDriver wrote: »Yes ma'am those are ashes and left-over bone fragments.
Thank you so much for your kind words guys, it means a lot. Two months ago I started writing a book about this sort of stuff, but I got discouraged and thought "No one wants to read about this" so I put it on the back burner. Your interest has inspired me to start writing again! It's been fun answering these questions, I can't thank you all enough
Do the book people would totally read it.
The funniest part when I was speaking with a dmfuneral director was him explaining g the cremation process. How they put the ashes in a bag and thst goes to the funeral home. I looked at him and asked...so you'll give me a ziploc baggie of my dad???2 -
This book, I'd buy it; I damn sure would11
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I think you have introduced the platform for your book right here...2
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So has working in your field made you feel differently about life?
(Vague I know)
I spent some time working in a transplant ward and it made me a bit of a zelot about blood/organ donation. And my parents being in the legal field made me proritise life insurance and wills (I don't know any of my peers who are that organised!)2 -
Write the book!
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ooo, yeah- a book on this would be interesting. Like a coffee table book with funny and odd stories- I would totally buy that. my family actually knows a few morticians- my mother's friend in elementary was the daughter of one- they'd play hide and seek in the room with the coffins. And my step uncle is also a mortician- he dad called him Digger and it took waaaay to long for me to put it together.
In NY you can't cremate animals in the same furnace as people. Can you do that in your state?1 -
How fast will I lose my gainz?
Or is all this lifting and macros and logging and weighing for nothing, b/c in the end buried is buried and burned is burned...we all end up the same.4 -
So has working in your field made you feel differently about life?
(Vague I know)
I spent some time working in a transplant ward and it made me a bit of a zelot about blood/organ donation. And my parents being in the legal field made me proritise life insurance and wills (I don't know any of my peers who are that organised!)
Ditto on life insurance and wills! It made me realize how important it is to take care of myself and treat my body right. So many people die younger than they should because of smoking and bad eating habits. I have learned that the choices I make today directly impact my future. At my funeral I don't want the minister to have to lie about the type of person I was or sugar-coat my life.
@Relser Animals cannot be cremated with people in Tennessee either. I would guess it's probably illegal in every state.
@Tr4pQueen We are all going to die one day, but we might as well take care of the body we have. Being healthy can't stop death, but it can make life much easier while we are here.13 -
You let us know when that book is available!4
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What do you do with the blood you drain from the body? And how long does embalming last?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition 0 -
If would happen if I drank some embalming fluid?
.... like a gallon of the stuff
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I have a cousin who is a mortician. His sister is a gerontologist. I tell them they should partner.0
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »I have a cousin who is a mortician. His sister is a gerontologist. I tell them they should partner.
Sister to Old Person: Me and my brother the mortician would just like to have a chat with you
Old Person: Oh, Hell No. Go away!!!2 -
@_unsteady_ No, I have never come across that
@ninerbuff The blood goes down the drain into the city sewer
Embalming an unautopsied body last about an hour and an autopsies one take about 2 hours.
@Motorsheen You would be my next client. A few sips would kill you.4 -
Heartisalonelyhunter wrote: »Have you ever had a corpse move? And do you have to do something to the eyes to keep them closed?
gah, I worked in an ER for several years as a clerk and I went in to get a wedding ring/watch from an older gentleman who died. I bumbed the bed and he goes "ahhhhhhh", big exhale of breath. I know it happens because of gas build up but it started the beejeezus out of me.8 -
Heartisalonelyhunter wrote: »Have you ever had a corpse move? And do you have to do something to the eyes to keep them closed?
gah, I worked in an ER for several years as a clerk and I went in to get a wedding ring/watch from an older gentleman who died. I bumbed the bed and he goes "ahhhhhhh", big exhale of breath. I know it happens because of gas build up but it started the beejeezus out of me.
That is so funny (only because it didn't happen to me)! And thank you for resurrecting this thread, because it's my favorite thread EVER! And I'm anxiously awaiting the book, OP.7 -
Resurrecting... Haha!5
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