Michael Montfort R.I.P.

roni

roni

some pics from the funeral:

funeral_03.jpg


funeral_08.jpg


funeral_05.jpg


funeral_09.jpg


yes, that's his daughter.
and yes, he did like white wine.
 
roni

roni

thanks james.
I do my best to be of some use from time to time between my drunken appearences.
;-))
 
Purple Stickpin

Purple Stickpin

Thanks roni! Not the most conventional of ceremonies, but it is nice to see that they were celebrating his life more than just mourning his passing.
 
roni

roni

I wish, at my funeral, they'd fill the whole hole with booze.

No, really, this wine-spreading (instead of 'sacred' water as they do in catholic areas here in germany) shows a lot of understanding, I think.
Know what I mean?

funeral_13.jpg
 
bospress.net

bospress.net

www.bospress.net
Hi,
Here is a photo of the ceremony. Photo copyright S.A. Griffin.

I'm not sure who everyone is, with the exception of Linda Lee.

mmontfortFuneral.jpg
 
Bukfan

Bukfan

"The law is wrong; I am right"
Thanks for the pics, Roni and Bill!
The white wine was a nice touch! Nice to see that Linda B. was there too...

(- Interesting to see how burials differ from country to country. Montfort's urn was placed in that big square box and then buried. Over here the urn is buried by itself in a small round hole.)
 
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mjp

mjp

Founding member
Bukfan said:
Interesting to see how burials differ from country to country. Montfort's urn was placed in that big square box and then buried. Over here the urn is buried by itself in a small round hole.
Click to expand...
That's because you don't have members of the funeral industry lobbying your government to pass laws requiring such things (so that they can then sell you those things at 10 times their wholesale cost).

Ask anyone who has had to go through that what a con job it is. "Oh, you want a pillow for the casket? That's $100 extra..."
 
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Bukfan

Bukfan

"The law is wrong; I am right"
mjp said:
That's because you don't have members of the funeral industry lobbying your government to pass laws requiring such things (so that they can then sell you those things at 10 times their wholesale cost).

Ask anyone who has had to go through that what a con job it is. "Oh, you want a pillow for the casket? That's $100 extra..."
Click to expand...

Wow! So it's the funeral industry who got the government to pass a law requiring that an urn must be placed in an (expensive) box? There's absolutely no need for that box. It speaks volumes of the governments willingness to please big business at the expense of it's own citizens.

Yes, I've heard that a funeral can almost bankrupt a family. It's incredible how every human need is turned into a business in the US.
 
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bospress.net

bospress.net

www.bospress.net
Bukfan said:
Wow! So it's the funeral industry who got the government to pass a law requiring that an urn must be placed in an (expensive) box? There's absolutely no need for that box. It speaks volumes of the governments willingness to please big business at the expense of it's own citizens.

Yes, I've heard that a funeral can almost bankrupt a family. It's incredible how every human need is turned into a business in the US.
Click to expand...

Yes Capitalism can really suck and this is one case where the almighty dollar is so powerful that laws have been created to victimize the grieving families and allow the maximum profits to be generated and required by law. It really is a con that would make the mafia proud. The group that makes the rules on how you must bury people are run by people with a direct hand in the profits (usually they own a funeral business). so, they are given a free hand to make all laws that will make them the most money and can use the arm of the law to force these rules. So, if you want to be cremated? You must buy a casket by law to be cremated in. How much for the cheapest pine box out there? Probably $1000. Can you make your own? Nope. Mush be bought and must be bought from the funeral home. No cheap imports or Amish made caskets. It is a con and is dictated by law (state by state). I'm sure that there is a law that says that once cremated, you must be placed in an urn that is bought from the funeral director as no other urn can possibly be sanitary.

Add to that the guilt trip that they lay on the grieving families and how they convince them to buy $10,000 coffins to either put in the fire or in the ground and you long for the days of burying the family members in the back yard.

Bill
 
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mjp

mjp

Founding member
The laws vary from state to state, but in Nevada, where my stepfather died, you could cremate in a cardboard box. Of course that special, state-approved $15 cardboard box costs $200, but at least you aren't burning up a casket. Then there are the "fees" you have to pay to remove the remains from the state. If you want to remove them legally, anyway.

You hit the nail on the head though Bill, when you spoke of how the funeral arrangers try to guilt/shame families into something "better" in order to "honor" their dead. You have to be very firm if you want to keep costs down (it's like negotiating with a car salesman), and that is the very point in many people's lives when they are not capable of resisting a pitch based on emotion.
 
bospress.net

bospress.net

www.bospress.net
Did you notice the box and urn at Montfort's Funeral? It was very nice, but it also may be a law. It would not surprise me to hear that there are laws that ashes cannnot be buried without being housed in an approved box. Of course, the only boxes that would be approved by these committees would be ones that cost $15 to make and sell for $1000.
 
CRBSMILE

CRBSMILE

Bukfan said:
Wow! So it's the funeral industry who got the government to pass a law requiring that an urn must be placed in an (expensive) box? There's absolutely no need for that box. It speaks volumes of the governments willingness to please big business at the expense of it's own citizens.

Yes, I've heard that a funeral can almost bankrupt a family. It's incredible how every human need is turned into a business in the US.
Click to expand...

A good friend of mine was an undertaker for many years.
He quit when Big Industry took it over. Most small town/local funeral homes that still claim their original names, are now owned by corporations. So maybe your grandpa was buried by "Healy's Home", and to this day they are still there and waiting for you-but Mr. "Healy" and his sons have been out of the mix for a long long time.
Whenever this comes up I think of Walter from The Big Lebowski--"Just because we're bereaved it dosen't make us a couple of fucking saps!" And then he asks for a Ralphs grocery store.
But it is very true that none of us would be allowed to put our loved one in a coffee can, even if that is where they'd want to be. CRB:)
 
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Bukfan

Bukfan

"The law is wrong; I am right"
It really is a con that would make the mafia proud.
Click to expand...

That's for sure! When I buried my step-father eight years ago, I only paid about $350 for the whole thing, including the urn, plus $150 for a 10-year lease of a plot (renewable every 10 years). Of course the state gives a contribution, depending on your income. In my case it was about $1000. Still, $1350 for a funeral ain't bad! And funeral parlors are also private businesses over here, and they're doing fine, although they don't make as much money as in the US.
It can even be done cheaper if you want the diseased to be buried in the mass-plot, called, "The grave of the unknowns" (it's just a big lawn with a monument). Then the body will be buried in a cheap cardboard urn, and you save the money for the plot.
 
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Bukfan

Bukfan

"The law is wrong; I am right"
Yes, that was a great series! It had it all, good actors and some good plots. I remember the funeral home was almost bought by a big funeral parlor chain. :(
 
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