If we have wedding consultants, why not funeral consultants? I know people plan months, if not years, for their weddings, and funerals often must be planned in a matter of days, especially if the death is unexpected.
But I like Tranquilis’ idea of a “bereaved’s advocate,” whether not-for-profit or even for-profit; I could see people who could plan a simple funeral and get distraught, uninformed people good, solid information and unbiased advice for a flat fee, without forcing the grieving widow to wrangle with the cemetery salesman who’s trying to peddle his “eternal memories package.” A planner could cut the bullshit and act as a go-between.
My dad didn’t want a service or a grave. We cremated him and spread his ashes out along his favourite walking path in a public park: just mum and my siblings.
A few weeks later we held a party in his honour.
I don’t think it gets any better than this. Who the fuck really wants to go to a funeral home, or a church service, or a burial?
I took an upper level Humanities class called Death and Dying once. Our professor told us a story about one of his friends. The guy had a stash of cash set up at his house, that on his death, would take care of things. His directions were that on his death, his friends were supposed to pick up the body, take it to his property, get the cash, buy some railroad crossties, some diesel fuel, and spend the rest on beer. They stacked up the crossties, laid his body on top, soaked it in diesel, and set it ablaze at sunset. They spent the night there drinking and telling stories and by dawn the whole thing was done.
That sounds nice to me. I don’t know how much of a pain in the ass it would be to get the required permissions ahead of time but I’m sure it could be done.
I’ve decided and told my husband and daughter that after anything usable has been donated to help the living, I want what’s left donated to a medical school - I should probably pick one out ahead of time to make it easier. No grave, no marker, no fuss. Let a future generation learn something from my leftovers and let those who remember me do so as they wish.
As for the industry, yeah, an advocate/planner would be a great start. Ideally, everyone plans ahead and leaves the info with the appropriate executors. That would go a long way to controlling the industry, I would think. Of course, people in general are too emotional when it comes to death. As if it’s a big surprise.