funeral plans and what ever

[hurleyjd]

I hung this statement on the tail end of backhoeboggie post in-tilted "Talented"

I thought it would be a good topic for discussion.

Any one here decided to donate your body after you die to a medical school to study. This would cheat the funeral director out off 6 to 12 thousand dollars.

Any thoughts on where you would like your body to go after you are through with it. I know some body donors. I am thinking about the body donation I have the application for Southwest Medical School in Dallas. They will cremate the remains after using for research and physician training and return the ashes to the family.

 

[melking]

Let me just say, the cost is pretty much the same minus the casket and headstone. You have to pay a company to donate your body to science. I just paid it for a co workers brother.

 

[Bigfoot]

Let me just say, the cost is pretty much the same minus the casket and headstone. You have to pay a company to donate your body to science. I just paid it for a co workers brother.

I always heard that.

 

[branguscowgirl]

You have to pay a company to donate your body to science. I just paid it for a co workers brother.

I was not aware of that. Interesting.....
I have not thought about donating to science, though I think that it is a great idea! However, I will donate any of my organs that are not used up!

 

[pdfangus]

my plan is to not tell anybody that I am dead....
most folks would not notice anyway....

 

[J&D Cattle]

No donation just a cremation for me. No rent a casket either, just a picture up front and move on.

 

[melking]

I am going with the organ donation myself. It's the least I could do.

 

[slick4591]

If you donate you could maybe still live on a ranch. The Body Ranch.

 

[greybeard]

From personal experience, some tips and other things about the "donating my body to science" thing...
1. Do it well in advance, by contatcting at least 3 teaching universities that utilize cadavers. They need to be close by. Transport of dead bodies is not cheap.
2. The fact that the medical facility/university agrees and contracts to accept you upon death is not binding. Why?
a. No one knows the day or the hour they will leave this earth.
b. There is never any shortage of dead folks on any given day--small town or large city. There certainly isn't a shortage of old, diseased, cancer ridden, liver gone, lungs gone, heart diseased dead folks--nor is there a shortage of those who have made no final pre-arrangements and the family is looking for a cheap way out of dealing with the dead body. Dead people who died young, in relatively good health are in far more demand than people who are over age 50-80.
c. There is not an infinite amount or storage room in any of the teaching hospitals or universities. If the facilities are already full of cadavers, they will simply decline to accept the body.
3. Have a back up plan if the body is refused.
4. Make sure your wishes are spelled out officially in documents--usually a living will, as well as in last will and testament's first paragraph.

Cremation: Shop it like you would a new car or tractor. Prices can run from $500 to several thousand $. Last one I had anything to do with cost $1200, and included pickup and transport from place of death to crematorium. It was the least expensive within a 500 mile radius. Ask what is included in that cost---like a new car, there can be and usually are other costs not advertised in the base price. transport, disposal of ashes, urn, transport of ashes back to family, even death certificate. (in Texas, county coroner, funeral director/crematorium now all sign off on death certificate)
Finding a good one:
If the deceased is a military veteran, the closest VA facility keeps a list of approved crematoriums they can vouch for, and even if the deceased is not a vet, the list is useful and the VA will give it to you to use.

 

[pdfangus]

great information greybeard.....

my wife and I both have agreed we want creamtion but neither of us has done any research.....

 

[backhoeboogie]

Hurley I have not pondered much on it at all. Don't really care. Have a will but have not designated anything special about my disposal. Perhaps I should. Now that you mention this I am sure I will ponder on it at some point.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Grey beard can I just give my family your number and you help them out? :lol:
Thank you!

 

[fitz]

I'm an organ donor. If it works out that they can use anything fine. I figure most of mine are in a state of ill repair.
My head stone is already in the family cemetery and I will be cremated with no service. Cremains spread on a pasture beside cemetery.
No obituary. I figure those who know me will already know I'm dead and those that don't, won't much care.
The last cremation I paid for a family member was 1600 all inclusive. Was the cheapest I could fine around here.

fitz

 

[sim.-ang.king]

I'm going to be turned in to some organic mulch, and sold to some hippie vegans. It's the least I could do.

 

[John SD]

I have my funeral pre-planned and pre-paid at the local mom and pop funeral home. http://www.kinkadefunerals.com Some basic info on products and services at the funeral home site.

Getting my funeral paid for was my 2012 Christmas present to myself. :nod: :lol: :lol: :lol: The total of services and merchandise including gratuities to the officant and organist came to a shade over $8K. The money is then deposited in a CD at the local bank.

This price is NOT guaranteed to keep up with inflation, so there could be a small additional charge, and not likely but could be a small refund when my time comes.

The price includes basic services, a fiberglass lined concrete vault, medium priced casket, and headstone.

The headstone was installed shortly after purchase so it is there and waiting for me. Engraving of the date I croak is included in the price. So the stone IS locked in at the 2012 price.

I encourage everyone to have a plan in place to ease the burden on your family WHEN the time comes. Having the whole shebang already paid for is a bonus.

 

[highgrit]

I'm wanting to go in the back yard. Hopefully the medical examiner will come to the house and sign off on my life insurance. Then my son can put me in the bucket of the backhoe and put me to rest. I been told this will work unless foul play is suspected.

 

[hurleyjd]

I did experience a neighbor that was a body donor for South west medical in Dallas Texas. His wife called me and I went to their house she gave me his card and I called and the body was picked up in about three hours. Very professional and compassionate and caring. I helped remove the body from the bath room and place him on the gurney. The person that picked him up put a very pretty royal blue cover over the body with only the head showing. Told the family to spend as much time as they wanted. The neighbors wife had called all of the close family in. They spent about thirty minutes viewing and expressing their emotions. I helped load the body and the pickup person left with the neighbors body. I left at that time and the wife went to work the next morning as if nothing happened.

 

[D2Cat]

Here's a link that will answer most questions about donations to science.
[url=http://www.kumc.edu/school-of...w.kumc.edu/school-of-medicine/ ... ogram.html[/url]

 

[MO_cows]

I'm signed off as an organ donor, but I don't think I could stomach the thought of being a research cadaver.

I like the idea of cremation because you have so many more options of final resting place. I don't want to be stuck in an urn on the mantle though! My favorite aunt and uncle were both cremated, they share a grave and marker in a cemetery but we were able to have a DIY, private family burial for each of them. It was very intimate and nice, I thought. Told a few stories about them, said the Lord's prayer over them, and put them to rest ourselves.

 

[hurleyjd]

how many acres would it take to bury every one in a 4 x 6 grave if each of us elected to be buried in a traditional way. Some one figure this out my calculator will not figure that big.