Home and Green Burial

Caring for our Own Dead with Safety, Simplicity and Meaning

Merilynne Rush, MSHP, RN, BSN, 1/18/19 The way we used to do it: laid out in front parlor A modern home funeral

Colin McRae Definition

.Bringing the body home .Caring for the body .“Laying out” .Visitation or wake .Funeral

The family and their community are the leaders. Dying in hospice care

First do nothing Caring for the Body

Close family/friends only . Wash . Dress . Lay out . Vigil Beginning the Mourning Invite others for a ritual or ceremony Decisions

Gathering . Visitation . Funeral . Memorial Disposition . . Burial ( is not done) What is needed to care for the deceased at home? Plan ahead Find a who will honor your wishes Discuss with your family Know your options Learn how to care for the body Home Funeral Around the Country Shroud Burial Designing Your Own Casket Decorating the Casket Victoria

Nancy

Cost Comparison Average conventional funeral, with burial or cremation: $8,000- $10,000

For a home funeral, cost is the cremation or burial. Sharon

Frank

Understanding Law & Common Practice Home Funeral is legal in all Hospitals and nursing states homes have policies that impede the release of the In most states, the family body to the family can do everything themselves Most funeral homes will not allow public viewing without CT, IA, IL, IN, LA, MI, NE, NY embalming and casket and UT require funeral director involvement Common Questions Is it legal? How do you care for the body? Is it distressing? What if I already made Can you get diseases “ ” from a dead body? arrangements? Is there an odor? How is it different if someone dies suddenly or not at home? Designating a funeral representative Home Funeral-Special Circumstances

Use caution: . Open sores/broken skin . TB . HIV/AIDS . MRSA . Obesity/edema . Strong odor from cancer treatment or tumors Special Circumstances (cont.)

. Family issues . Autopsy . Donation . Sudden death . Trauma . Septicemia . CJD . Gangrene . Tissue gas For More Information… How Can I Help You?

. End-of-Life Doula Education . Advance Care Planning . Death Café . Home Funeral & Green Burial Consultation

[email protected] Green Burial No cement vault No embalming Biodegradable

A Family Cemetery Environmental Effects of Modern Cemeteries

A 10-acre swatch of cemetery ground

. Concrete . Wood . Steel . Formalin . Pesticide . Herbicide

Mark Harris, Grave Matters Green Cemeteries . Non-profit nature preserve . Wildlife habitat . Watershed restoration . Walking trails . Forest . Native prairie meadow

Foxfield Preserve, Wilmot, OH Diocese of Kansas Greensprings Natural Cemetery, Newfield, NY The Preserve at All Saints Cemetery, Waterford, MI Marble Park Cemetery, Milan

Marble Park, Milan, MI

Green Burial in Michigan 1. Forest Lawn, Dexter 2. Oak Grove, Chelsea 3. Marble Park, Milan 4. The Preserve at All Saints, Waterford 5. Hebrew Memorial Gardens, Oak Park 6. Mount Carmel, Wyandotte 7. Ridgeview Memorial Gardens, Grandville 8. Peninsula Township, Traverse City 9. Chassell Township, Houghton 10. Forest Hill, Houghton Why people choose Green Burial

1. Minimal environmental impact 2. Tradition 3. Cost 4. Spiritual or religious reasons 5. Do-it-yourself ethic A Home Funeral & Burial In Michigan

Creating a Family Cemetery

.< 1 acre, outside city limits .Family only .In perpetuity .Hire a lawyer .Survey and perc test .File deed with county Colin McCrae