Tampa Bay Times • 26 Nov 2018
Remember Ted Williams’ postmortem journey? The baseball legend’s body was shipped to an Arizona cryonics lab after his death in 2002. His children were left bickering in court. A will specified cremation, or, no, he wanted his body frozen, per a signed scrap of paper stained with motor oil. Lawsuits later, his body remains in the deep freeze. – Savvier generations are increasingly authoring their own “preneed” funeral and burial plans. Doing so spares survivors anxiety and indecision over a dizzying host of choices, from how you want to be remembered to where you might want to be buried, scattered or shelved. – You might go for a simple religious rite followed by interment in a family plot. You can also have your ashes compressed into a diamond, submerged in a reef or blasted into space. – Whether you are the family elder or a boomer confused about your parents’ or siblings’ desires, take the lead: Invite family discussion about a topic that none of us find particularly comfortable to talk about.