Funeral advice from the Freep

Today's Free Press has a somewhat whacky column by Susan Ager regarding, shall we say, alternative funeral arrangements. Her point, which is well taken, is that funeral expenses and formality have gotten way out of control. In fact, she says the Federal Trade Commission has concluded that funerals are one of the most expensive purchases most consumers ever make.

Ager is into a little less ceremony. Before announcing that she wants her husband to "load [her] body into his vehicle, drive to a crematory and watch as [her] body is put into the chamber, then come back two hours later for [her] ashes," which she hopes he will then spread over her garden, Ager interviews Beth Knox of Maryland, who describes her mother's funeral this way (emphasis mine):

"We kept her at home in New Jersey for three days afterwards. My sister and I bought dry ice to keep her cool. From a funeral home we bought a basic casket, with a base of plywood and a top of heavy cardboard, that fit together sort of like a butter dish. We decorated that with stickers and Magic Markers. Then we set it on her dining room table, and my brothers carried her downstairs and lay her in it, and we put flowers and other treasures in it. We had wrapped her in silk, in beautiful clothing, and then we carried the casket feet first out into my sister's van. We drove to the crematory, which has a very nice chapel. We all said good-bye and I sang her a song. And then we put her in."

Wouldn't it have been even cooler, and less formal, if while Grandma was sitting around for three days on the dining room table that they used stickers and magic markers on her rather than just saving them for the butter-dish casket? I mean, if we're going to do this thing, let's really do it right.