Last wrongs

Commonweal, August 13, 2004 by John C. Cort

Now let us consider the comparative advantages of a vigil in the church. One recommended procedure:

1. You ask the undertaker to pick up the body at the hospital or the home and refrigerate it. Hospitals and some funeral homes have refrigerating facilities. This avoids any need for embalming, which, contrary to popular opinion, is not required by law.

2. You instruct the undertaker to deliver the body in the casket to the church of your choice, where six able-bodied men or women--relatives or friends--will carry the casket into the church. It will be immediately covered by a cloth pall and wheeled up to the sanctuary. This will occur perhaps a half-hour before the vigil so that very few people will have any chance to see whether the casket looks cheap or expensive.

3. After the funeral, the casket will be wheeled from the sanctuary to the front of the church, where the priest will conclude the funeral rite, the pall will be removed, and the casket will be placed in the hearse.

4. The driver will deliver the casket to the cemetery.

I have checked with local funeral homes and found that the charge for these services ranges from $955 without embalming ($1,315 with minimal embalming) to $3,195 ($3,790 with embalming). These figures do not include the cost of the casket.

Up to now I have proceeded on the assumption that you, like the Catholic Church and about 75 percent of the American people, prefer the traditional burial of the deceased in a casket rather than cremation. Since 1963 the church, somewhat reluctantly, has permitted cremation, and the percentage of those who choose it is rising every year. The cremated remains may also be present at a funeral ceremony in church and buried in a cemetery, of course.

Cremation reduces the cost of dying, since the casket is a major expense and for cremation a plain rigid container, wood and/or other material, is sufficient. Being a hopeless traditionalist, I share the church's reluctance. About twelve years ago my wife Helen and I purchased two beautiful pine coffins, with rope handles, for $400 apiece from James Casey in Newport, Rhode Island (401-847-5573). These coffins also make excellent blanket boxes and/or window seats. Casey now makes them from cherry and the price is $785 plus delivery (about $1 per mile). Our local funeral directors charge anywhere from $195 to $29,000. An undertaker with reasonable impulses can probably provide you with an acceptable casket for something under $1,000, or under $500 if you don't care much about appearance.

The question then remains: How do you find an undertaker who has reasonable impulses? Suggestion: talk to your local "memorial society," which may well have changed its name to the Funeral Consumers Alliance. To find your local branch, contact the FCA headquarters (www.funerals.org or phone 800-765-0107). And, if you want to help others beside yourself, join your local society / alliance.

This review has barely scratched the surface of a huge subject. Cemeteries, whether owned by towns, churches, or profit-hungry corporations, are a problem. Plots can be expensive, and you may be required to purchase an outer burial container, an additional expense. Preneed planning is a must, but the consensus is to avoid preneed contracts, which tend to enrich the funeral director and rarely protect the consumer from the escalation of prices. Organ donation is a consideration for many people. More information is available from the FCA.