finalpassages.org

Guidebook for Creating Home Funerals

Conscious Dying & Burials / Geometric Magic
Conscious Dying & Burials / Geometric Magic

DateSunday - April 10 2022

HostLisa Garr

GuestsJerrigrace Lyons, Lon
Show Audio

In the first half, Lisa Garr (email) was joined by Jerrigrace Lyons, a death educator, doula, author, minister, and Reiki Master. As founder and director of the nonprofit organization Final Passages, Lyons has overseen hundreds of family-centered home funerals, beginning with that of her own dear friend. As opposed to the embalming process, expensive casket, and provider-directed services common in most end-of-life arrangements in the United States, she went on, there are more personalized, meaningful, natural, and environmentally friendly options available. These may include services held in a family member's home, where the body of the deceased, preserved with dry ice and essential oils, rests in a biodegradable casket—or even a cloth shroud or woven basket—decorated by visitors. Burials are also typically at a shallower depth than those conventionally provided, and can entail green practices that incorporate elements of natural decay and composting.

The benefits these options offer the families and friends of the deceased are practical as well as psychological and emotional, Lyons noted. The considerable financial cost of commercial funeral services, for example, is often a burden for those left behind, but home funerals are more affordable options. Embalming chemicals can be harmful to the environment, and conventional burial materials are wasteful and can also pose ecological problems. Drawing upon age-old practice, at-home services can last up to several days, giving loved ones time to process their feelings and honor any religious or cultural traditions as they wish.

Lyons also discussed the legal aspects of end-of-life choices and alternatives to traditional funeral and burial services. Currently, eleven states allow for terminally ill patients to die at home at the time of their own choosing, she said. As for home funerals and alternative burial arrangements, laws vary from state to state; they are more commonly permitted than many people would guess, however. At any rate, it's very important that any wishes for alternative end-of-life plans are written down, Lyons advised.