A home funeral happens when a loved one is cared for at home after death, giving family and friends time to gather and participate in planning and carrying out after-death rituals or ceremonies and preparing the body for burial or cremation by bathing, dressing and laying out for visitation. Some nursing homes, for example, may allow the family to care for the deceased after death, and more religious committees are housing and caring for the dead. Support and assistance to carry out after-death care may come from home funeral educators or guides, but their goal is to facilitate maximum involvement of the family and friends in the funeral process.
Dry Ice Resources
Home Funeral Websites
National Home Funeral Alliance
A Natural Undertaking
Crossings
Final Passages
Death Midwives/Doulas
International End of Life Doula Association
The Death Midwife
Doulagivers
National End of Life Doula Association (states A-M)
National End of Life Doula Association (states N-Z)
Death Doulas
Books on Home Funerals
Undertaken With Love, A Home Funeral Guide
National Home Funeral Alliance books
Other Online Resources on Home Funerals
Seven Ponds: Embracing the End-Of-Life Experience
Inside a Home Funeral, The Daily Beast, 2/5/13
The Surprising Satisfactions of a Home Funeral, Smithsonian, 3/1/09
DIY Death: Natural, At-Home Funerals and Their Boomer Appeal, WBUR Common Health, 11/22/13
Home Funerals Grow as Americans Skip the Mortician for Do-It-Yourself After-Death Care, Huffington Post, 12/6/17
Home Funerals, The Order of the Good Death
