Do you care about what will happen to your body when you die?

I want to be cremated (after any usable parts are taken for organ donation) and have my ashes spread over a specific site that my in-laws own. My husband has the same wishes. Neither of us want to have an actual gravesite because we don’t want anyone spending their time sitting at a gravesite. We both only want a small funeral and would much rather our friends and family go out and have a good time instead.

I wouldn’t want it just wasted. I’ve made arrangements to allow use of anything still workable as transplants—but given how old I am getting, most of my parts are probably going to be pretty far gone. In that event, I have arranged to have it donated to medical research. I’ll either provide some horrified new med students a autopsy experience or end up a skeleton hanging in some lab.

I do care, though I know it doesn’t really matter. I just don’t like the idea of bugs crawling all over my body. I wish to be cremated and scattered on the south shore of Lake Superior.

I’m not sure why, because I will be dead, so why should it matter; but yes, it does matter to me. I want to be cremated and… this is kind of the weird part, I want my ashes to be spread around the Pantheon in Rome. I am thinking that in my will I will make provisions for my friends to take a trip to Rome and they will each carry my ashes in their pockets, and their pockets will, conveniently, have holes in them which will allow my ashes to be distributed around the floor of the Pantheon, and then picked up on the shoes of all the tourists that come to the Pantheon and thereby be eventually distributed all over the city of Rome. Don’t ask why I want this; it’s a long story.

I need to confirm with my children that they want to be able to observe our traditional customs surround death and burial. If they don’t want to be held to observe those customs then I might consider cremation and having my ashes scattered in the mountains. I would want a service that celebrates my life and the things that brought me joy.

I don’t really care. I guess if I had to pick, I’d have myself bronzed and set up in someone’s living room.

I have a full body donor card in my wallet, so my body will go to science.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard Bronzed playing your fiddle, I assume? A fitting centerpiece for any living room; perhaps the psychotic hillbillies? :-)

I wouldn’t mind donating my body to Body Worlds, the exhibit that shows preserved human bodies to the public, for educational study. I went to an exhibit two years ago, and got a sign-up card to apply. They’d skin my body, then cure it for the public to see——
http://www.hmns.org/images/skinman-256.jpg

@MRSHINYSHOES I went to the Body Worlds exhibit a few years ago too. That was one of the most interesting things I’ve ever seen. I would consider donating my body to them if I had something interesting for them to put on exhibit.

@lillycoyote, good thinking, but those hillbillies would have preferred to eat me or use my virgin blood in some type of sacrifice orgy to the Babylonian god Nebo.

I’ll be cremated, any bits that might help anyone else can go, then cremation. I just can’t bear the idea of lying there being unable to get away from any little crawly bugs etc who might get into my casket. hmm…. what about shrink wrapping or vacum sealing lol.

Seriously though, useful bits used and then cremated. At the service, no sad readings etc, I want anyone who wants to speak, to stand up and tell jokes, some good funnies, and I also want my casket to be set up to rock from side to side as if I’m laughing, with a little joke laugh box like you’d get from a joke shop so I can “join in” the fun. Then I want folk to chase each other out of the crematorium to the theme music of the Benny Hill show. Then off for a good knees up… party!!!
hugs all xx

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard I’ll take you.

Bugs need food too. I’ll let them eat me.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard No, you’re right. They would never be sated by mere idol worship. They would need some sort of flesh and blood sacrifice.

I’ll let someone else decide for me. I really won’t care. It’s kind of like a wedding: The man stays out of it while the S/O plans everything; I just have to show up.

@rangerr, consider me yours.

@lillycoyote, excellent observation.

This question has been asked and answered before, but I’ll repeat my answer: Hefty Bag, Curb.

Cremation for me. It is easier on the relatives, they don’t have to see your body. My parents were both cremated and I applaud them for that. My visions of them now is, that they are free, free to blow in the wind. Also I don’t like the idea of being in a rotting wooden box, with tons of earth on top of me.

I don’t really care if I’m buried, cremated, or whatever. I just don’t want a big deal made of it.

I’d like to be donated to science, though.

I’m gonna die of alcohol poisoning so I guess that’s a no for organ donation :P

I really DO care. I absolutely do not, under any circumstances, want a funeral. I’d also like to be cremated. Both of my grandparents chose this route – and personally I thought it was a huge relief. No one likes funerals (I know, I know.. they’re for closure), and I’m not convinced they make anyone feel better. I’ll tell you in my experience, the reality of the loss sinks in whether or not you’re there to put a person into the earth.
I know it shouldn’t matter, since I won’t be there… and funerals and whatnot are for the living, I just much prefer not to imagine my loved ones lined up at my corpse. I like to think they’ll remember me as I was alive, not after I’ve left this body.

cremated.

no, but conversely, I don’t care what might happen to my body but where my soul goes is the biggest issue.People call it a “body”, to me it’s just a “cell”, a cell combined by a sperm and an egg,actually the “body” is not mine….I know this sounds ridiculous,but I think “body” and “soul” are separable. I wonder if I die, will I still remember the things in my life, am I still capable of thinking and feeling? Or my soul ceases to exist as well?

Yes, and it is in my will. Take what is salvageable to give to other humans and burn the rest. My parents have both requested to be cremated, and once both are gone, we are to mix their ashes together and spread them in the woods that they both loved.

I don’t really care. Although i wouldn’t mind donating what’s usable, and the rest must be cremated because burials are a waste of space and land.

Cryonically frozen, please.

I worry about this sometimes. I worry that if I donate organs I won’t be able to move on spiritually until all my components are dead :/ I’d register as an organ donor if it wasn’t for this. I know it sounds selfish but it scares me to be stuck in limbo.

I want to be cremated and put into a meatloaf ;)

I want as little money spent on me as possible. Cremation is fine, or “accidentally falling out of the back of a truck” is good too. I’ve moved on, so it doesn’t matter to me.

Cremation is not always the cheapest way. Careful what you wish for…

Some body farms will accept bodies without charging a fee, but not all. It’s the same for some medical colleges. Some people choose to build their own coffin or their loved one does and buries it on their property (within local law.) And then there are those that die in a remote location and become food for animals and insects.

None of these appeal to me personally. That’s why I’ve done some research, had a will written, and saved up enough money for the cost.

@FutureMemory – You might want to listen to this. It’s terribly interesting, but not exactly a glowing review of cryogenics. According to what I’ve heard cryogenic preservation requires constant upkeep and expense so you might want to make sure no one is going to leave freezer door open or something.

@lucillelucillelucille That is reminiscent of some tribal people who ingest the ashes of their dead to keep them with them. But meatloaf sounds tastier than their method of ingestion.
According to lore this also a good way to to deal with you should become a vampire, though I presume you’ll be cremated before you have a chance to rise from the grave and terrorize your kin .

@lillycoyote You are awesome.

@fundevogel -Why wait until you’re dead to terrorize your family?;))

I was assuming you wouldn’t be interested in that baring vampiric infection, my bad.

@lucillelucillelucille You are deliciously outrageous, but you knew that already!

@Dr_Lawrence-Why,thank you! :)

I want to be cremated. Have the ashes mixed in a meatloaf.
Have my friends and family gather together for a farewell dinner.

When it is over, have it reviled that my ashes were in the food.

My final word to them. EAT ME! ;-)

@jesienne I like that answer!

Hell no, I’m not responsible for my body, it’s YOUR problem now!

I’m really hesitating about whether donate my organs or not. I know many of us think it’s doesn’t really matter when we are dead . For me ,I feel sick to even imagine a big hole or something in any part of my cadaver. But I DO WANNA help people who really need the organs in the operations. I know it’s contradicting,but i can completely understand that the organs from donors can make a big contribution to the society.Presently I’m just scared of it, maybe i will register the donation later (anyway,i’m still very young),maybe it’s the time when I straighten out my thinking and don’t care about the corporeal stuff too much.

@Eleanora It is understandable how you feel. There are many people who feel the same way. It might be helpful to talk to someone who has been the recipient of an organ (or even an eye lens) donation.

This suggestion is offered not to sway you into registering, but to come to a conclusion, at least for now. I don’t want to be morbid, but “I’m still very young” is not a valid excuse to put it off. Whatever you (or anyone) decides, it should not result in the loss of respect. It is an individual’s choice, as long as they make their preferences heard.

I’m going to be an organ donor (if anyone would like my type 1 diabetes-damaged organs >_>) and then I’d like to be cremated.

I won’t be around to care when it happens, but I’d like very much for the funeral announcements and such to describe me as a male. Might or might not happen, depending on whether I am involved with anyone at the time who would see to that, what my legal status is, etc.