Ask a mortician
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Would you rather be cremated or buried and why?3
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@Cutaway_Collar If I'm having trouble finding an artery or closing a mouth I mumble "Come on, work with me here Mr/Mrs. _________."
@Motorsheen I've put ashes into coffee cans, wine bottles, and cookie jars. My aunt wants to be kept in one of those antique Ball canning jars. Hobby Lobby and Old Time Pottery had some neat vases/ jars that can be used as an urn. I send people there all the time. Amazon also has a good selection as well.
@RoxieDawn No yet. I did have a wife ask me cut out her husbands artificial heart so she could take it to Wal-Mart to be engraved. My response was "Umm no."<----It kills me when people ask me crazy things like that then tell me what I do for a living is weird!I have no questions, just wanted to say I love this thread, thank you!
I'm enjoying it just as much. I love talking about my job
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so, when a body is cremated- does it all go to ash? Or are there, like, bone chunks? And what do you do with the chunks if there are any?
My Aunt died last year, and was cremated and my Uncle had her put in a Crystal Skull Vodka bottle- actually makes sense to me, it's a skull! Anyways, there were no chunky bits that I saw. So, what the oddest thing you've been asked to put ashes in?
Also, what do you do with ashes that no one claims? Like, if the city pays to have a homeless person cremated?2 -
What kind of schooling/training did you need for your job? Are there entry level jobs in that line of work?0
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This is fascinating.4
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StealthHealth wrote: »Are the ashes from each cremation kept separate? If so, how?
This is a good question.. like when you cremate someone, are their special measures taken to ensure that their ashes don't mix with the last guy in the oven? If I have a loved one cremated and I receive their ashes, is it definitely 100% uncle Bob, or is it mostly Uncle Bob, with a bit of 100's of other folks mixed in?4 -
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PandoraGreen721 wrote: »
But... but worm food
Speaking of, is that really a thing? I mean, between the tightly closed casket and embalming fluids?2 -
PandoraGreen721 wrote: »
I'll take that over being put in a confined box and dropped into the ground.
Just cremate me and sprinkle my ashes around the cosmetic counter at Nordstroms17 -
Never thought of the possibilities of where my ashes could be scattered...but that sounds appealing.0
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Do dead men when they go stiff, also get a permanent hard on? I would love to die with a hard on one day. lol Is that why they only show half the body at the viewings?4
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PandoraGreen721 wrote: »Never thought of the possibilities of where my ashes could be scattered...but that sounds appealing.
Actually, sprinkle me around Lake Tahoe or on Manhattan Beach.0 -
One possibility is to be cremated and your ashes used to grow a tree.4
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One possibility is to be cremated and your ashes used to grow a tree.
that's what i want. i want to be a tree when i grow dead.
before they had that my plan was to have my friends steal my body and bury me somewhere shallow and foresty without a coffin, so the bugs and worms and rot and animals could get to me. natural decay and all that.7 -
I want to be added to powdered creamer containers.. Just a pinch in each jar. Ha5
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jessiferrrb wrote: »One possibility is to be cremated and your ashes used to grow a tree.
that's what i want. i want to be a tree when i grow dead.
before they had that my plan was to have my friends steal my body and bury me somewhere shallow and foresty without a coffin, so the bugs and worms and rot and animals could get to me. natural decay and all that.
I was just telling my husband about green burials last night. They are becoming more and more popular. It's something I'm considering in the back of my mind. Hopefully, I have a good long while to toss the thought around.3 -
Have you ever had a corpse move? And do you have to do something to the eyes to keep them closed?1
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This thread is awesome!2
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Can you just rent a casket? Like if I die, lay me in the pretty one for the service and then transfer me to a pine box after everyone leaves?
Kind of like those rent a fancy dress for an evening services?8 -
ClubSilencio wrote: »What's the #1 song on the funeral home playlist?
Have you ever had to work on someone you knew personally?
Do you ever eat your lunch there in the funeral home?
My answer is different than the lovely mortician's
I used to be a church musician and played many many funerals and how great thou art and amazing grace were (way too) common. They are definitely the default hymns for many. If I never have to play how great thou art again I'll die happy. The weirdest I had to play was joy to the world. For my funeral I've requested ding dong the witch is dead 8 -
jessiferrrb wrote: »One possibility is to be cremated and your ashes used to grow a tree.
that's what i want. i want to be a tree when i grow dead.
before they had that my plan was to have my friends steal my body and bury me somewhere shallow and foresty without a coffin, so the bugs and worms and rot and animals could get to me. natural decay and all that.
I was just telling my husband about green burials last night. They are becoming more and more popular. It's something I'm considering in the back of my mind. Hopefully, I have a good long while to toss the thought around.
ooh! good to know, they're illegal a lot of places, which is why it's good to have degenerate friends who don't mind a bit of corpse-napping.0 -
futureicon wrote: »I want to be added to powdered creamer containers.. Just a pinch in each jar. Ha
I don't know why this made me giggle...But it totally did.4 -
jessiferrrb wrote: »One possibility is to be cremated and your ashes used to grow a tree.
that's what i want. i want to be a tree when i grow dead.
before they had that my plan was to have my friends steal my body and bury me somewhere shallow and foresty without a coffin, so the bugs and worms and rot and animals could get to me. natural decay and all that.
I was just telling my husband about green burials last night. They are becoming more and more popular. It's something I'm considering in the back of my mind. Hopefully, I have a good long while to toss the thought around.
This was something my husband told me about a few years ago, I told him to do his research, set it up and put it in writing...don't leave that stuff up to me. My own plan is to donate whatever organs can be used and my corpse can go to science.0 -
@CooCooPuff Any metal will survive the cremation process whether it's an artificial joint, bolts,screws, etc... Winter is our busiest season. People choose cremation more during the cold months as well.
@StealthHealth @Relser @futureicon The body doesn't completely turn to a fine powdery, ash initially; large pieces of bone are left behind. We sweep the remains into the tray below and then put the bones into what is basically a large blender and pulverize the large chunks. Then it comes out looking like fine, powdery ash. Once they are cooled off, they go in a plastic bag and are placed in a temporary urn.
If no one claims the ashes legally we can scatter them after so long. I'm not 100% sure what the statute of limitations is; I will have to check. At my work we hold on to them until the family is ready. Some people take a few weeks and others take years. In order to cremate, a family member or Durable Power of Attorney must sign the Cremation Authorization, if the person if homeless and has no living relative we cannot cremate. We can bury them though.
@JaneiR36 Its depends on what is taken from the body. When people think of organ donation they general think of people donating their heart, kidneys, or liver, but in reality the majority of donations are cornea, skin, bone and muscle tissue. The only scenario in which someone is eligible to donate their heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, etc is if the individual is on life support because they know for certain what organs are healthy and functioning properly at the time of death. Embalming isn't difficult for a cornea or skin donor. It does become more challenging from bone or tissue donors because the incisions disrupt the arterial and venous system. We inject formaldehyde through the carotid artery and drain the blood out of the jugular vein.
@cee134 I want to be buried. It helps support my profession and it will give my family closure when I die. This may sound selfish,but I want something to permanently commemorate my life such as a headstone. Nothing fancy just something to prove that I existed.7 -
My dad was cremated. We went straight to the crematorium and skipped the funeral home. Total cost: $1200.
We had a family service and scattered his ashes in the Puget Sound per his request. Small, intimate, and cheap.
I want to be cremated, my husband is against it. If he buries me I will come back to haunt him, should I die first.15 -
How is the person above me going to die?
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Can you throw some incense in with me if I'm cremated? To make it smell pretty?10
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futureicon wrote: »
Let's not answer that, mmmkay.4
This discussion has been closed.
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