When Death Occurs: A Practical Consumer's Guide Funerals, Memorials, Burial, Cremation, Body Donation

by John M. Reigle

For everyone who faces the death of a loved one, this practical guide presents options for funerals, memorials, burial, cremation and body donation including ways to make them more meaningful,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0971651809
• ISBN13: 9780971651807
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Consumer Advocate Press
• Length: 193 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.5" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

Realistic Look at Death

"As men, we are all equal in the presence of death." ~Publilius Syrus I would recommend this book to prepare for your own funeral or as a way to help family members pre-plan their own funerals. There is a "Quick Reference for Those Who Face the Death of a Loved One." In the midst of grief, this book could also help you quickly select various services and methods of burial before arriving at the funeral home. This is a book for people who are worried about "Death Care Professionals" taking advantage of them. The information in this book will encourage a more frugal approach. John M. Reigle is an advocate for consumer rights in the funeral industry. He believes people should examine all their options and create a more meaningful service for the living, with less emphasis on caskets, urns and vaults. While reading, you will discover: 1. The services provided by a funeral home should also include finalizing details after the funeral. I was amazed at all the details that can be taken care of by the funeral home. 2. The wide variety of funeral service options. 3. Sample Forms and checklists. 4. A Memorial Service Planner. 5. Pros and Cons of each burial situation. 6. Death Certificate Information Worksheets 7. Ways to save $1,000s on caskets. You might want to spend more on the actual service 8. Obituary forms. 9. Ideas on gathering information for a meaningful funeral service. 10. List of Body Donation Programs in the United States. After reading this book, I can now understand why some family members in the past have chosen not to have funerals and also why some have chosen not to have open caskets. The Services Presented in this Book Include: Body Donation/No Service Body Donation/With Memorial Service Cremation/No Service Cremation/With Memorial Service Cremation/With Funeral Service Burial/No Service Burial/With Graveside Service Burial/With Funeral Service Once you read some of this information, you will definitely realize that the ways we "protect" the deceased can be less for the deceased's benefit and more for the survivor's benefit. There should still be some dignity in death. For the survivors, and for the deceased. However, if you are not informed, under duress or don't have the time to compare prices of services, you could be taken advantage of and feel worse than you do already due to added financial burdens. I think this is a straightforward source for information on a wide variety of funeral services. ~The Rebecca Review

INDISPENSIBLE- The Only Book of its Kind!

When Death Occurs is a step-by-step manual that shows you how to pre-plan for a personalized funeral, memorial, cremation, even body donation. Rather than fish through lots of unnecessary information, you can go directly to the chapters that relate to your personal wants. The book tells you how to save [$], whether you choose to use a funeral home or plan a memorial yourself. Reigle focuses on personalization and planning a memorial that is meaningful and memorable to your family and friends.I've decided that I wanted a really memorable memorial for myself, but without the financial burden for my loved ones. I looked into the available books on funerals, and none on the market tell you how to plan and save money for what YOU want. Rather take the philosophical route on what is the "best" way to go (burial, cremation, body and tissue donation, etc), Reigle chooses instead to let the consumer decide what is right for them and give step-by-step instructions on how to save money and still get what they want.I've also heard that Reigle does some pretty great personalized "pre-planning" workshops to accompany the book; there's info to schedule one included in the book. I'm currently trying schedule one for my senior group.

compassionate and protective of the vulnerable

This book is by far the best protection a person can have during times of suffering and grief. People will try to take advantage of others at all times, especially when experiencing the loss of a loved one. This book allows a person to familiarize themselves to the funeral processes by giving guidelines to follow during the most important decision-making process. Everyone should have this book in their family.

Identifying seven alternatives to traditional funerals

When Death Occurs: A Practical Consumer's Guide by consumer rights advocate John M. Reigle is a comprehensive, "user friendly", step-by-step guide to dealing with the practical and financial realities of funerals, memorial services, burials, cremations, and body donation. When Death Occurs is not a guide for dealing with the emotional pain of losing a loved one; it is a specific manual for handling what must be financially and physically necessarily done with respect to burial or cremation matters, concerns, and decisions. Because of its necessary information, enhanced with an abundance of practical advice (including identifying seven alternatives to traditional funerals), which is presented in a no-nonsense manner, When Death Occurs has the highest recommendation and could result in the savings of thousands of dollars of unnecessary, unneeded, or unwanted expenses.