I wrote a eulogy for my friend Sandra Shaw back in August.  You can read it here if you are interested.  The family asked me to do the graveside service.  After hundreds of funeral services, I thought I knew all the various ways that people could be buried.  But Sandy chose Natural Burial and it was a new one for me.  Not only was it new, it is now the way that I want to be buried.

Tom and I have not made any funeral arrangements for ourselves.  I know the benefits of pre-planning and have wanted to do this.  I think it is best to do it when we are relatively young and in good health.  Tom, like many people, prefers not to talk about it.  One of the problems for us is that I wanted to be cremated  and Tom wanted to be buried.  We joke that the survivor, after the first one dies, gets to decide on the burial method.  This, however, is a lot of pressure to put on a grieving spouse.  I have seen how difficult it is for families.

After experiencing Sandy’s Natural Burial, I am now willing to be buried.  Here are some things I really like about natural burial.  First, there is no embalming of the body.  The body is allowed to decompose naturally.  Second, the body is buried in a biodegradable casket or shroud without a vault.  Third, the body is buried in a special cemetery that doesn’t require vaults.  Sandy’s remains are buried at Foxfield Preserve between a wildflower meadow and a hickory forest.  Fourth, after burial, the land is allowed to return to its natural state.

Natural burial cares for the dead with minimal environmental impact.  There isn’t a lawn and the grounds aren’t mowed, which reduces carbon emissions.  The Natural Burial Cemeteries are beautiful places where you want to walk around and enjoy nature.  If there are grave markers, they are carved on a natural stone that looks like it belongs in the preserve.

Another reason Tom and I had not made funeral arrangements is that, until a few years ago, we were full-time RVers.  We didn’t know where we would end up.  Now we have our little house in Genoa Township and we plan on staying in this house as long as we are physically able.  We have a church where we can have a memorial service.  There is a funeral home a few miles up the road that can handle arrangements and is experienced in natural burial.  And the Kokosing Nature Preserve is less than an hour away along one of our favorite bike trails.

I am ready to make our arrangements for a natural burial at the Kokosing Nature Preserve.  Death may be a long time away – or it might come tomorrow.  We never know.  I am ready spiritually.  I would like to be ready with my arrangements to make it easier on the ones I leave behind.