Home Funeral Choices - Informed Final Choices

Although it has become rare for families to choose to take on the care of the body of a loved one in the days after death, this option remains open for those who desire a more personal and meaningful engagement with the process.

There are a variety of options for people to deal with part or all of the process of caring for their loved one’s body after death.

Home Funeral Information

IFC supports any of the following choices:

To take terminally ill individuals who so desire out of medical facilities in order to die at home
To transport the deceased home rather than to a mortuary
To refuse to have the deceased embalmed
To have friends and family prepare the body and create a beautiful and peaceful home environment for visitors wishing to be with the deceased (for up to 72 hours)
To privately transport the deceased to a mortuary for cremation, a mortuary or cemetery for traditional burial, a legal open-air cremation site, or a chosen site for green burial

Importance of Personalized Ritual

Ritual can be a profoundly meaningful act for the bereaved, whether while caring for the body or enacting a burial or cremation. Our experience is that conceiving and performing personalized ritual often serves as a deeply nourishing activity for those experiencing the grief of loss.

In addition, the process of discussing the wishes of a terminally ill loved one for the care and disposition of their body – and the celebration of their life – can be healing for all involved.

To learn more about home funeral choices, contact IFC about its Family-Directed Home Funeral workshop.