<p>My parents were remains were cremated . They passed away 2 weeks apart. We took their “cremains” on a flight cross country and buried them in the family plot about. 2 months later. </p>
<p>My MIL recently passed. She donated her body to the UC Med School. They will cremate her remains, scatter them at sea, the hold a memorial service for all donors of this year in the fall. They also have a memorial marker on campus. We were given a map to find its location.</p>
<p>My H and I are so impressed with the way they respect donor and family , we may donate our bodies as well.</p>
<p>“Cemeteries are such sad, creepy places. I don’t want my kids to think of me in one.”</p>
<p>I enjoy going to the cemetery where my family is buried. It gives me a chance to reflect on my life and heritage. It gives me a chance to remember people who have been in my life or the lives of people I know. I use it as a celebration of their lives.</p>
<p>I agree. My D always tell me to hold my breath and look straight ahead whenever we are passing a cemetery. Just thinking that bodies are rotting 6 feet below is definitely creepy.</p>
<p>“My H and I are so impressed with the way they respect donor and family , we may donate our bodies as well.”</p>
<p>My daughter will forever be grateful to the nun who donated her body so that she (daughter) could learn anatomy during her Physician Assistant studies. The class members all had great respect and treated the bodies with dignity. She knew her donor was a nun because when they got around to studying hands, they opened the fist and discovered her rosary still clutched. My daughter and her team placed it in her body cavity so that it would go with her through the cremation process.</p>
<p>More along the theme of the family coping rather than cremains (!) but NPR did an interesting segment today on an older woman’s suicide (ill and planned and family circled around, etc) and grief. </p>
<p>When I die, I really do not care what they do with my body. If they decided to donate it to a Med. School, I am perfectly fine with it. Why do I care. I only ask them to keep me in their hearts, frankly. I do not see any purpose of visiting cemiteries, why if you are constantly thinking about the loved ones who are gone. they are not gone entirely anyway, they live in you, you children and grandchildren, it is sooo easy to see, it is actually pretty amazing how it works.</p>
<p>I read the story, Tempe. I thought about lining to it here, but then this would really go a different direction. I recommend it to anyone interested.</p>
<p>If you think you might want to donate your remains to a medical school, it can go much more smoothly if you do the paperwork in advance. Your survivors can change the plan once you are gone, but if they are on board, it is a great relief to make one phone call and have someone on the line to explain exactly what will happen, and then take care of everything. (Been there, done that with my dad.)</p>