Decomposing Bodies Power Ethereal Cemetery Lanterns

What happens to you after death? We expect that our loved ones will grieve, someone will say consoling words to our family and friends, and perhaps there will be a party with fond toasts to our memory. But what becomes of our remains? In most cases, bodies are either embalmed or cremated, buried or scattered in some meaningful location. But the Centre for Death and Society at England’s University of Bath held a competition in hopes of reimagining the future cemetery. They selected as their winner ‘Sylvan Constellation,’ a proposal that combines grieving with the latest in green technology to create a sustainable, peaceful space.

Sylvan Constellation envisions the cemetery as a series of woodland paths through clusters of ‘memorial vessels,’ some at the level of the path and some suspended on columns overhead. The vessels contain remains and microbial fuel cells that hasten decomposition. As the body breaks down, its energy is converted into electricity that causes the vessel to glow, lighting the nearby paths, creating beautiful surroundings while avoiding the environmental impacts of embalming or cremation. Centre director Dr. John Troyer said in a press release, “The proposal captured the Future Cemetery design competition’s larger themes by presenting a mix of different sustainable technologies.”

The proposal is the work of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. GSAPP will receive a prize of five thousand pounds and a month’s residency in Bath to research the nearby Arnos Vale Cemetery, where Sylvan Constellation will be constructed. GSAPP will collaborate with Arnos Vale and the Centre to bring the project to fruition. “By working together on this project, collaborators will establish networks for longer-term projects involving innovative, sustainable design around end-of-life planning,” said Troyer.

Original Article via

What Happens to Your Social Media Profiles After You Die?

Death during the 21^st century is a tad more complicated than in the past with the introduction of the Internet, e-mail, and social media. In addition to funeral arrangements and financial arrangements, families of the deceased must now decide what to do with social media accounts!

So what happens to your social media profiles when you die? The answer to this question depends entirely on which social media platform you’re asking about.

Facebook: You have two options with Facebook. Immediate families, after showing proper documentation, can choose to close the entire account or turn their profile into a memorial page. Should you choose to go with the memorial page, Facebook will remove sensitive information from the profile (contact information and addresses), removes all status updates, and also changes the profile settings so that only friends can find the profile and post information to the memorial wall.

The profile will no long show up in the “People You May Know” section, nor will friends be reminded of the deceased’s birthday. Facebook will also deactivate the user’s login information to prevent anyone from guessing the user’s password and logging in.

If no notice is given, Facebook will leave the profile as-is forever.

Would you like to put in the request to deactivate a deceased person’s account or create a memorial page? Click HERE 

Twitter: After six months of inactivity, Twitter automatically starts deleting inactive accounts. Upon receiving proper documentation, Twitter will deactivate an account for a death notice. At no point in time will Twitter release the login information for a deceased person’s account, regardless of your relation.

Uniquely, Twitter will not recycle any username information. So, your username is yours to keep!

Would you like to put in the request to deactivate a deceased person’s account? Click HERE

Instagram: While Instagram won’t release any login information, they do give you options for the deceased’s account. Just like Facebook, you can choose to Memorialize the page or remove the account altogether.  They require certain documentation to support your claim, but an immediate family member can submit the form at any time.

Would you like to put in the request to remove a deceased person’s account or create a memorial page? Click HERE

LinkedIn: Your profile will remain live until notice is given. An immediate family member must submit the request along with documentation and additional information like the link to the obituary. After review, LinkedIn will close the account and remove the deceased’s profile.

Would you like to put in the request to close a deceased person’s account? Click HERE

Gmail: Did you know you can decide what you want done with your account before you die? Google calls it their “Inactive Account Manager.” You can decide who has access to your information ahead of time.

If this wasn’t set up, an immediate family member can submit a request to either close the account or request very specific information from the account. At no time will Google release login information.  Also, even after the account has been deactivated, Google does not re-release the username to be taken by someone else.

Would you like to set up your Inactive Account Manager or submit a request on behalf of a deceased person? Click HERE

Want to learn more? Read some of these great articles!

View: “What happens to all my social networking information when I die?” by Jonathan Strickland

View: “What Happens to Your Social Media Profiles When You Die?” by Sylvan Lane

We Need a Heroic Narrative for Death

Amanda Bennett and her husband were passionate and full of life all throughout their lives together — and up until the final days, too. Bennett gives a sweet yet powerful talk on why, for the loved ones of the dying, having hope for a happy ending shouldn't warrant a diagnosis of "denial." She calls for a more heroic narrative for death — to match the ones we have in life.

Death & Marriage - Why Should You Prepay Your Funeral?

October is Founder's Month here at Security National Life, and our Vice President Chief Marketing Officer Jason Overbaugh gave us an insightful presentation on the background of the company and it's origins. One point he talked about during the presentation really stood out to me. He presented us with the average costs of a wedding and a funeral. In a recent survey conducted by The Knot, it was revealed that the average wedding is now about $28,858. However, bear in mind that weddings cost more in large urban areas. Currently, the average funeral in the United States costs anywhere from $7,000 to $10,000. This range includes the services at the funeral home, burial and installation of a headstone. And keep in mind that prices may vary greatly, depending on different funeral homes and their location in the country.

A wedding, and a funeral are two of the biggest events we will have in life, yet they are met with a very different sentiment. Both are a big financial expense, yet one is a happy and joyous occasion, while the later is met with grief and more often than not burdens for others. When death is a non-negotiable in our lives, and 40 to 50 percent of marriages in the United States end in divorce, it makes you wonder why as a culture we hate to spend money for a funeral service, but don't hesitate to throw tons of money into a wedding? This is the question Overbaugh raised. A funeral is a celebration of a life, a memorial for a loved one. But more often than not, people are not able to provide the type of services they would like to for their love ones because of the high costs associated with a funeral.

People plan and save for a lot of things, weddings, college, houses, retirement, etc. But most people aren't saving or planning for their funerals. In fact, I don't think most people think about it until it has happened. Now please excuse my lack of tact, but when the only real sure thing in this life you can count on happening, is the fact that you will die, it doesn't make any sense to not plan and save for your funeral. When you don't save for it, who has to pay for it? That financial burden now goes to your grieving family, making a sad situation even more stressful. Planning a funeral is not something you want to do at the spur of the moment, in your height of grief. As a population we are going to really see the effects of this stress once the next generation of baby boomers leave the golden years.

So why should you prepay and plan ahead for your funeral? Proper planning for your final wishes is more than wise, it is a thoughtful decision to help your family during a difficult time of loss. But it doesn't just benefit the loved ones you leave behind, you can actually save money by prepaying and planning with funeral homes, by locking down prices for services and products. Preneed life insurance is tied directly to the costs of a prearranged funeral or cremation. All of the services and merchandise that you select may be completely covered by your insurance if your funeral home has guaranteed the price of your funeral.Second, there may be no tax liability on the death benefit to your surviving family members. And the benefit of your preneed life insurance policy may be payable immediately to the funeral home at the time of your death.

What is preneed life insurance?
Preneed life insurance is an insurance policy whose benefits cover the cost of the predetermined expenses of a funeral, cremation or burial. The expenses typically include standard funeral home services, funeral merchandise, church services and even burial services and merchandise. The purpose of preneed life insurance is to set aside funds for your funeral, before the need arises, thereby protecting your loved ones and your financial assets.

ABOUT US

Funeral Guy's Bow Tie is your source for funeral industry news; publishing insightful information, industry trends, and staring conversations that can educate not only funeral professionals but all those who have dealt with death in their personal lives.

Sign Up to receive our FREE Funeral Guy's Bow Tie E-mail containing the latest articles published. 

Enter your email address:

This blog is hosted by Security National Life a market leader in "end of life" insurance products and services. We are a publicly traded company in the business of helping families.