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The original reason for embalming was the body began to stink after a few days so if you wanted to keep it around say for a wake, you needed it embalmed. If being cremated or buried within a day or so of death, no need to embalm. Some claim it is a health reason and must be done. Wrongo on that.
Exactly. Both of my parents were cremated, with no viewings, so no need to pay for embalming or to buy or rent a casket.
Not sure this is the right forum to put this, but I took care of a very sweet lady who passed away.
Her family did not want her to be embalmed!
What could possibly be the reasoning in this? I do not understand!
If you watch ask the mortician on YouTube, she just did a thing about this recently within the last couple of weeks, and they still sew the mouth shut.
She handles the stuff with a sense of humor, but it is kind of a dark humor, and it may be upsetting if you are one of those people who is sensitive to this, and I am not one of those.
Blondy, I suppose my son's body was refrigerated, but when I viewed his body, it was in a body bag that I think had ice in it. Maybe to ensure it stays cold until the loved ones have viewed it.
I did check Pennsylvania's embalming laws, which are below. Kathryn, it sounds like embalming was required for your husband's body to be transported.
Quote:
Embalming is almost never required. In Pennsylvania, a body must be embalmed, refrigerated, or placed in a sealed container if disposition will not occur within 24 hours after death. (49 Pennsylvania Administrative Code § 13.201 (2018).)
Furthermore, if the death was due to a noncontagious disease and the body will be transported by common carrier -- such as an airplane or train -- and it will not reach its destination within 24 hours after death, the body must be embalmed or placed in a "metal or metal-lined, hermetically sealed container." (28 Pennsylvania Administrative Code § 1.23 (2018).)
Refrigeration or dry ice can usually preserve a body for a short time.
So to answer my own question, it sounds like embalming is required if the viewing is not within 24 hours.
Speaking of the grandfather whose mouth looked strange, my Mom's did as well. The funeral director said it's just the effects of gravity and there's only so much they can do.
Blondy, I suppose my son's body was refrigerated, but when I viewed his body, it was in a body bag that I think had ice in it. Maybe to ensure it stays cold until the loved ones have viewed it.
I did check Pennsylvania's embalming laws, which are below. Kathryn, it sounds like embalming was required for your husband's body to be transported.
So to answer my own question, it sounds like embalming is required if the viewing is not within 24 hours.
Speaking of the grandfather whose mouth looked strange, my Mom's did as well. The funeral director said it's just the effects of gravity and there's only so much they can do.
I wanted to see my husband's body. The NM medical examiner told me that his body was in perfect condition and I was so glad - I wanted to see it. It was important to me. Since he had to have an autopsy (state law) and then he had to be transported and all that, it was going to be several days. So frankly, he had to be embalmed. It wasn't optional if I was going to see him one last time.
I mean, it wasn't like he had been sick and I'd been taking care of him for days or weeks or months - he'd been 100 percent "fine" when I saw him just two days before he died. I wanted him back in NE Texas so badly - and I wanted his personal belongings, and I wanted to look at that beautiful face and beautiful profile one last time. I personally am very grateful for the great job that the NM medical examiner and the local funeral home did so I could look at him one more time. He looked peaceful and handsome and honestly, he looked like he was just asleep.
The only thing that they couldn't really correct - and they did warn me about this - is the slightly bluish tint to his face. It was very slight but it was there.
Blondy, I suppose my son's body was refrigerated, but when I viewed his body, it was in a body bag that I think had ice in it. Maybe to ensure it stays cold until the loved ones have viewed it.
I did check Pennsylvania's embalming laws, which are below. Kathryn, it sounds like embalming was required for your husband's body to be transported.
So to answer my own question, it sounds like embalming is required if the viewing is not within 24 hours.
Speaking of the grandfather whose mouth looked strange, my Mom's did as well. The funeral director said it's just the effects of gravity and there's only so much they can do.
Yes, dry ice can take the place of refrigeration or I suppose be used in conjunction?
I came across one state the other day that had a law you couldn't have the body "out and about" so to speak for more than x hours unless it is embalmed. Seemed an odd law and not a situation that would happen often, but I guess it could if you have a service in the place they died and then drive the body to a home town somewhere else in the state and have a second service/viewing.
I wanted to see my husband's body. The NM medical examiner told me that his body was in perfect condition and I was so glad - I wanted to see it. It was important to me. Since he had to have an autopsy (state law) and then he had to be transported and all that, it was going to be several days. So frankly, he had to be embalmed. It wasn't optional if I was going to see him one last time.
I mean, it wasn't like he had been sick and I'd been taking care of him for days or weeks or months - he'd been 100 percent "fine" when I saw him just two days before he died. I wanted him back in NE Texas so badly - and I wanted his personal belongings, and I wanted to look at that beautiful face and beautiful profile one last time. I personally am very grateful for the great job that the NM medical examiner and the local funeral home did so I could look at him one more time. He looked peaceful and handsome and honestly, he looked like he was just asleep.
The only thing that they couldn't really correct - and they did warn me about this - is the slightly bluish tint to his face. It was very slight but it was there.
I was in exactly the same situation. I had just talked to my son that morning, so I HAD to see him in order for his death to be real. He had an autopsy as well. But it was six days until I saw him. Maybe the difference with yours is that your husband had to be transported. My son's face was a perfectly normal color, which surprised me and I was so glad. But as I said, that's all I saw. I asked if I could see his tattoos again because he had a lot of them and I never really paid a lot of attention to what they were. They said it would be difficult because he was in the body bag, so they asked if they could take photos and send them to me, which they did. His arms did have that bluish cast.
I will never understand how he looked so good, because he wasn't found immediately and he was in cardiac arrest at that time. All I know is I am grateful he did, because he had a rough life over the past five or so years and I was so thankful that he finally looked at peace.
I was in exactly the same situation. I had just talked to my son that morning, so I HAD to see him in order for his death to be real. He had an autopsy as well. But it was six days until I saw him. Maybe the difference with yours is that your husband had to be transported. My son's face was a perfectly normal color, which surprised me and I was so glad. But as I said, that's all I saw. I asked if I could see his tattoos again because he had a lot of them and I never really paid a lot of attention to what they were. They said it would be difficult because he was in the body bag, so they asked if they could take photos and send them to me, which they did. His arms did have that bluish cast.
I will never understand how he looked so good, because he wasn't found immediately and he was in cardiac arrest at that time. All I know is I am grateful he did, because he had a rough life over the past five or so years and I was so thankful that he finally looked at peace.
I am so sorry for your loss but I am also so glad you got to see your son's body and that he looked at peace.
I'll tell you something interesting. We had an open casket at the funeral and several people mentioned to me that as the last song was playing (Uncloudy Day), my husband's face began to glow softly. I saw it but thought it was just my imagination, but then several people said to me "Did you see what happened to his face right before the coffin was closed?" It was really fascinating to me, especially since his son and I both actually got sort of tickled during that song, because we had accidentally picked a version that was longer than normal and we both could just imagine my husband laughing and saying "Dang it!" every time the pastor started to get up but another verse came along!
The biggest funeral viewing irony is the comment, "He/she looks good." Though I get the intent, OMG! they are deceased. They don't look good. No viewing for me either.
This is not always true. My dad had alzheimers. The last time I saw him alive, he looked agitated and confused and not happy or peaceful, as he usually was in life.
At the wake, he looked so much more like himself, and so much at peace. He really did “look good.”
The biggest funeral viewing irony is the comment, "He/she looks good." Though I get the intent, OMG! they are deceased. They don't look good. No viewing for me either.
I went to a wake years ago for the father/father-in-law of a couple I knew. Very nice people. The deceased was a mail carrier who had a serious heart attack at 50, so the USPS put him on disability for life. He died at 84.
I saw his wife standing in front of the casket so I went over and gave my condolences, and said the usual about how he didn't look as if he had suffered. The widow smiled and said, gazing adoringly at his body, "And look at him, doesn't he look good? He was SO handsome. It's easy to see why I said 'Yes', isn't it?"
Um yeah, he's pretty hot. Wanna jump in that box right now.
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