Disposing of Your Body

If you had a choice, how would you want your body disposed of? Do you want to be embalmed and burried? Or would you rather be cremated? If so, what do you want done with your ashes? While some people ask their ashes be scattered over water or a favorite spot on land, many people prefer that their ashes be left in a mausoleum or burried in a cemetary. People sometimes write down such preferences and leave them with their families or a memorial society.

Have you thought about donating organs from your body? If so, which ones? Are you interested in leaving your body for use by medical science?

Have you write your own obituary? This isn't as strange as it may seem. Major newspapers usually have a file of obituaries written while celebrities and national figures are still alive, and then they update these accounts at the time of death.

Try writing your own obituary in two or three paragraphs. In addition to giving the standard information, such as your name, age, and position at work, point out some of your major accomplishments in life. Which community activities would you mention? Who are your survivors?

In addition, list your funeral and burial plans. What day and time do you prefer to be burried? Where is your service being held? Do you have any preferences regarding financial contributions to charities in lieu of flowers? Where do you want to be buried or your ashes deposited?