Life lessons from the people we call to lay someone to rest -- Washington Post

The Washington Post Magazine has a superb series of profiles of people who provide support and comfort in death, from the gravestone carver to the bagpiper, to the casket-maker and the florist. A home funeral expert says:

We’re in a culture that doesn’t really want to deal with death that much. But death can be a meaningful experience that families share. It allows the grief to be hands-on. And what people don’t realize is that they can do more by themselves than they thought. In some states you can be your own funeral director. I’ve become trained as a home funeral guide, so I can guide other people through this: bathing the body, keeping the body preserved for a few hours or overnight before it’s moved. There’s a way to use dry ice to cool the body down so it doesn’t begin to decompose. I’m there as a support, as a counselor, somebody to reassure you that you’re doing fine.