FAMILY
UNDERTAKING
HUFFINGTON
03.03.13
deaths happen in a hospital, nursing
that are friendly to the cause point to an
home or long-term care facility. What
increasing demand.
happens afterwards is nearly always the
The reasons vary from the economic to
same, with few exceptions for religious
the psychological and cultural. The avertraditions: A doctor or nurse will sign
age funeral costs $6,560, while a home
a death certificate and the body will be
funeral can cost close to nothing. In a sowhisked to the funeral home, where it’s
ciety where seeing death and speaking of
washed, embalmed, dressed, and preit is often taboo, home funeral advocates
pared for a viewing and burial. A family
are challenging the notion that tradiusually sees the dead only a few times:
tional funerals are anything but a natuwhen they die, if there’s an open-casket
ral end to life. Instead, they assert, death
viewing and in the rare case when a casand mourning should be seen, smelled,
ket is opened during burial.
touched and experienced.
But a small and growing
Death and
“There are people who get
group of Americans are remourning
it and think it’s a great idea.
turning to a more hands-on,
should
And there are people who
no-frills experience of death.
be seen,
have been so indoctrinated
In the world of “do it yoursmelled,
to think a different way, a
self” funerals, freezer packs
touched and less hands-on way, that they
are used in lieu of embalmexperienced. can’t imagine anything else,”
ing, unvarnished wooden
says Elizabeth Knox, the
boxes replace ornate caskets, viewings
founder of Crossings, a Maryland-based
are in living rooms and, in some cases,
home funeral resource organization and
burials happen in backyards.
the vice president of the National Home
Nobody keeps track of the number of
Funeral Alliance.
home funerals and advocacy groups, but
Knox travels across the nation to run
home funeral organizations have won
trainings on do-it-yourself funerals and
battles in recent years in states such
her book on her daughter’s home funeral
as Minnesota and Utah that have atis what inspired the Kirks to do their
tempted to ban the practice. Most states own. Her group is one of several that have
have nearly eliminated any requirements seen interest grow in recent years. They
that professionals play a role in funerals. include Final Passages (California), NatuIt’s now legal in all but eight states to
ral Transitions (Colorado) and Undertakcare for one’s own after death. And the
en with Love (Texas). There are 61 orgagrowth of community-based, nonprofit
nizations that are members of the NHFA,
home funeral groups and burial grounds
many of which are run by just one person.