1. What do you want done with your body after you die?
G) I want to be cremated an put in a memorial reef.
2. What’s your second choice?
Cremation, and having my ashes scattered somewhere foresty or mountainy.
3. If you died today, would your wishes be respected? Why or why not?
I hope so. I don’t have a will, being only 26, but I have expressed my wishes to my mother, father, and a few of my best friends.
4. If your answer to (3) was no, how much does that bother you?
n/a
Shot into space. I realize it’s a long shot, but there is a small chance that someday, an alien civilization could stumble upon my corpse, trace it back to Earth, suck up all the planets resources, and use people for food.
Remember the movie Soylent Green?
Probably not. My family looks at me strangely when I bring it up.
Not a lot. I’ll be dead, and unless my idea about death proves to be drastically wrong, I won’t care much at that point.
Give away anything you can, up to and including my body to science/medical schools. Do what you want with whatever is left (though that would probably be cremation, since I don’t really see the point of cemeteries).
Second choice: whatever my husband/parents/in-laws decide to do, since it won’t really matter, given as I’ll be dead anyways. They can have whatever service they feel is appropriate, including things that I don’t agree with (religious service or whatnot), since, as I just said, I’ll be dead anyways and it won’t matter to me.
My wishes would be respected, I think. My husband certainly knows that I feel that donating what I can is important (I can’t donate blood, due to vCJD risk restrictions, but if they’ll take organs, even to study vCJD, go for it!) My mom pretty much knows how I feel. I figure that’s enough, though sooner or later, my husband and I will get this all into some sort of will.
ETA: I don’t have vCJD, if it reads that way! But I lived in Europe during the years that are banned from donating now, and so perhaps my body can tell researchers something useful. Who knows?
1. What do you want done with your body after you die?
2. What’s your second choice?
Cremation, perhaps an incredibly expensive urn to be placed under a larger than life picture of me that will rotate from one son the next but only after an elaborate funeral. I want at least two people to faint, and one to fling him or herself at the 4 x 6 foot picture of me displayed next to the long line of speakers. Weeping, gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair. Wailing, really.
OK, not really. Cremation then dumped into the ocean.
3. If you died today, would your wishes be respected? Why or why not?
Possibly. I’ve discussed it with my parents but I suspect they think I am kidding. I will ask them again.
4. If your answer to (3) was no, how much does that bother you?
A bit. I know I’ll be dead and not care, but it’s something I really would like to do.
Another organ donor. Take whatever parts of me are usable, and do what you want with the rest; I won’t be around to care.
After any useable parts were removed for recycling…
Choice 1: Burial without embalming and with a minimum of fuss–as plain a casket as possible, a minimalist headstone, etc.
Choice 2: Cremation with your ashes scattered in the garden.
I think my wishes would be respected, as I have created a will, along with funeral documents and suggestions.
If my wishes were not respected, I’m not bothered by the idea. I’d rather my close kin did what was right for them.
And just because I never seem to get tired of saying this… those of you who have not made a will or a healthcare directive, if you are seriously injured your Whackjob Relative with the Loudest Mouth might be in charge of you. Hie thee to a public library and check out a book on do-it-yourself documents appropriate for your state. {stopping now. sorry for the hijack.}
1. What do you want done with your body after you die?
Organ donation. Once they get everything they can use, I don’t care what they do with the rest.
2. What’s your second choice?
Cremation, with the ashes scattered somewhere nice, like a park or the beach.
3. If you died today, would your wishes be respected? Why or why not?
Probably not. My family would want me to be buried, even though I’ve mentioned before that I’d like to be an organ donor.
4. If your answer to (3) was no, how much does that bother you?
A lot. I love the idea that even when I’m dead and gone, I’ll have helped a fellow human being in some way. Yet, if I know my family, they’ll insist on doing it their way. Maybe I can convince them before I shuffle off this coil.
Other.
I’d like to be buried minimally, but with an elaborate headstone. And it would be an unusual place, like a suburb, or an industrial park, so I can be part of the local mythos for years to come.
I do, however, want a headstone somewhere. Neither of my parents wanted one, and it bothers me for some reason that there’s not a permanent plaque or stone somewhere noting that they were here.
Lastly, I don’t want a formal funeral. I want a memorial service with an open bar and food where my friends and family can get drunk and swap stories about our time together for as long as the mood is upon them.
What’s your second choice?
Burial at sea, preferably in the Gulf of Mexico.
If you died today, would your wishes be respected? Why or why not?
My first wish is almost a certainty, since it’s in my will and all my friends have agreed.
Fed to hyenas, tasmanian devils, or some other cute animal*
Okay, seriously, I don’t care. I’ll be dead. I don’t see any point in trying to keep a corpse from rotting, but whatever will make my family feel better.
I want my organs harvested, and the rest donated to science. I’ll be fighting ignorance even after I die!
My friends and family can have a service if they want - no skin off my nose. So to speak.
1. What do you want done with your body after you die?
Cremation with your ashes scattered in an appropriate place. I’d like them to be buried next to the cats in the back yard. Or just scattered somewhere where they won’t bother anyone. Then donate a bench to a park with my name on it.
2. What’s your second choice?
The urn, I guess, but I really don’t want my ashes kicking around somewhere, getting in the way, then ending up in the attic or something.
3. If you died today, would your wishes be respected?
Probably. Maybe I’d better write it down or tell someone, though.
4. If your answer to (3) was no, how much does that bother you?
Not much at all. I’ll be dead.
I want to be buried in the “pagan” way - i.e. what neopagans talk about and some have set up: wrap the body in muslin (sans coffin, definitely sans embalming), bury it, and plant an acorn on top of the burial spot. The tree will be my memorial.
I don’t think this is likely to happen; in fact I think I heard that it’s illegal in many states. Why that would be, I don’t know.
As for whether it’s likely to happen: probably not. It would be a big hassle for people not prepared to deal with my death, and I haven’t made any such arrangements. It doesn’t bother me much, although it seems a shame that my family would probably be sucked into an overpriced, unnecessary procedure that I don’t want.
I guess that’s why so many people go for cremation: it gets rid of the hassle inexpensively. Still, I’d rather be returned to the earth if I can.
It looks like there are several Green Cemeteries that could accommodate your wishes.
In Florida, at least, a casket and embalming are not required by law. Here is a description of green burial from one of the green cemeteries in Florida.
After organ donation, if I’m accepted, I want to be cremated and the ashes scattered. My mom died in August 2007 in Hawaii, and we had a beautiful ceremony where my sisters and I put some of the ashes into the ocean with flowers, and then scattered the rest in a favorite location in Waimea Canyon.
My second wish would be a green burial. My husband would follow my wishes, because he wants the same thing, although he’d prefer a green burial first, then cremation and scattering of ashes.
I’ve often though there was a business opportunity for the enterprising mortician in defleshing your bones and returning to your family a nice clean skeleton, or perhaps just skull, if you’re budget-minded. I’d love that, personally. Let the flesh return to the earth, but keep my skeleton around, preferably in the attic.
Chances of this happening? Nil. I’m not as wild about cremation as other people are. I want to be a corpse, dammit!
I hope I can get to a cryonics facility in time! No burial/rotting for me-I wanna do COLDSLEEP! I’m all set for a long sleep and sweet dreams-and revival April 23 2355!
Now, i hope my trust has been kept up to date…I will need some cash.
see ya!
“When I’m gone, I want to be scattered across the downtown shopping district from a plane.”
Yeah, I’m going to be creamated too.
“Who said anything about being creamated?”
I want to be part of an eternal reef, which is where you are cremated and then your ashes are mixed with concrete, poured into a mold and made into a part of a reef memorial. It’s pretty cool. This would be after organ harvesting, where I’ve left instructions that they can take whatever is needed. For anyone interested, here’s the info on the reef burial:
http://www.eternalreefs.com/index.html
What’s your second choice?
I guess just standard cremation and then scatter my ashes in the ocean somewhere.
If you died today, would your wishes be respected? Why or why not?
I’m pretty sure they would be, but not right away. Hubby and I have talked about possibly keeping the ashes and having the two of us entombed together in the reef.
If your answer to (3) was no, how much does that bother you?
I don’t really care at all. I used to say that I wanted to be cremated and then have people mix me with a little ganja and smoke me. I’d still kind of like that, but recognize the limitations to that wish. I don’t really care to much.