Home Funeral Guide
Family & Community-Led After Death Care
Historically, care for the dead was handled by family and community – and legally, it is still our right to do so. For some families, religious and cultural rituals continue to provide guidance, support, and meaning when death occurs.
But for many in North America, the ways our ancestors cared for each other in death have been forgotten, with death care outsourced to paid funeral professionals. The movement to relearn and reclaim family-led and community-supported death care practices within the larger culture has described this approach as a home funeral.
In 2019 I co-created a non-commercial public information website to educate Oregonians about family rights and funeral rites. Check out Oregon Funeral Resources & Education and its sister site Washington Funeral Resources & Education.
“I hope with all my heart this information about caring for your own dead will reach those who need to know it. I hope that you get the chance that I was denied, to lay with your dearly departed’s body in the privacy of your own home, keening until your voice is gone. Spending those last hours with that body that you hugged and kissed, talked to and laughed with.”
— Keelia Carver, co-creator of Oregon Funeral Resources & Education, dedicated to the memory of her son Max
What is a Home Funeral?
“What’s referred to as a ‘home funeral’ is a noncommercial, family-centered response to death that involves the family and its social community in the care and preparation of the body for burial or cremation; and/or in planning and carrying out related rituals or ceremonies; and/or in the burial or cremation itself. It may occur entirely within the family home or not. It’s differentiated from the institutional funeral by an emphasis on minimal, noninvasive care and preparation of the body; reliance on the family’s own social networks for assistance and support; relative or total absence of commercial funeral providers in its proceedings.”
From the After-Death Care Educator Handbook
“Up until around 1900, when a death occurred, the tasks that are now performed by paid professionals were performed by the family. Most people today think that they are legally required to use a funeral home, which is not true. More and more families desire hands-on involvement, but simply don’t know how to go about doing so.”
— David Noble, retired funeral and cemetery director
What is a Home Funeral Guide?
Oregon law allows families and communities to care for their own dead. In legal terms, an unpaid family or community member handling after-death-care is referred to as a “person acting as a funeral service practitioner.”
As a trained Home Funeral Guide, I provide education and consultation. I do not provide hands-on care for the dead; I support family and community members to do this for their own loved ones.
Take a look at the free do-it-yourself information on Oregon Funeral Resources & Education and contact me if you’d like support to explore this option.