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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: cremation

cremation stories: 13 news summaries

In Tough
Times, Families Reselling
Burial Plots

Cemeteries report
brisk sales of late

Sep 24, 09 1:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - People struggling with bills and other earthly concerns are unloading burial plots at a fast clip. One Florida cemetery made as many “buybacks” in the first half of this year as in all of 2008, another in Ohio reports a similar spike, and ads are plentiful on funeral property... More »

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cremation • recession • death • economy • cemetery • economic downturn • burial plot • family plot

SWAYZE ROUNDUP

 Patrick Swayze to Be Cremated 

Plus, a first look at the actor's book with wife Lisa Niemi, and more tributes

Sep 16, 09 7:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - Patrick Swayze’s ashes will be spread across his New Mexican Rancho de Días Alegres (Ranch of Happy Days), which he called his favorite place in the world, a source tells Radar. The actor’s body, currently in Los Angeles, will be cremated within 48 hours. More Swayze news:... More »

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entertainment • cremation • celebrity • Keanu Reeves • Patrick Swayze • Lisa Niemi • celebrity death

Funeral Biz Reels as More Opt for Cheaper Cremation

Recession takes a toll on pricey burials

Apr 15, 09 9:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - It's sometimes said that death is the only recession-proof industry, but current trends seem to prove that axiom wrong, CNN writes. Funeral homes across the country are reporting a decline in profits—not because fewer people are dying, of course, but because more people are opting for cremation and scrimping... More »

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cremation • recession • funeral • burial • cemetery

Die-Hard Gator Alums May Find Final Resting Place at UF

Dedicated Gators want to spend eternity on campus

Mar 5, 09 12:15 PM CST
(Newser) - University of Florida alums who want their final resting place to be somewhere on the campus of their alma mater will likely get their wish, the Gainesville Sun reports. A bill that cleared a Florida Senate committee today would allow any of Florida’s state universities to build a columbarium—... More »

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Florida • Florida Gators • cremation • University of Florida • college • alumni • ashes

Fans' Ashes in Limbo as Yankee, Shea Shut Doors

As Shea and Yankee stadiums shut, relatives fret over final resting places

Oct 11, 08 3:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - Now that Yankee Stadium and Shea have shut their doors forever, people who scattered ashes in their favorite ballpark worry that their loved ones may spend eternity in a parking lot, the New York Times writes. Some are searching for a way to get some dirt out of the hallowed... More »

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cremation • New York Mets • New York Yankees • Yankee Stadium • stadium • baseball • Shea Stadium • ashes

As Cremations Increase, So 
Do Options

Lower cost, greater personalization
appeal to families

Sep 7, 08 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - The cremation industry is booming, a reflection of tighter economic times and a push from consumers for more creative funeral options, reports the Washington Post. Cremations, cheaper than traditional burial, rose 7% nationwide in the past 5 years and made up 35% of the funeral market last year. Funeral homes... More »

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cremation • casket • business • death • burial • funeral home

 'Predatory' Funeral Industry 
 Comes Under Fire 

Big industry players take advantage of the bereft, says watchdog

Jul 5, 08 6:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - The funeral industry preys on bereft customers, artificially raising prices and taking custody of bodies it has no right to handle, argues a watchdog group. The Funeral Consumers Alliance aims to push fair and environmentally friendly death-care practices, Newsweek reports. “Funeral corporations use predatory sales tactics and aggressive marketing... More »

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environment • cremation • death • watchdog • funeral • burial • funeral home

 For Inventor, RIP:
 Rest in Pringles Can  

Children honor food scientist's wishes to be buried in chip container he developed

Jun 2, 08 3:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - The man who invented the Pringles can is taking the chips' "Once you pop, you can't stop" slogan to eternity, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Dr. Fredric J. Baur patented the iconic container in 1970 while working for Procter & Gamble, and had long wished to be buried in one;... More »

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cremation • Proctor • junk food • snack foods • burial • Pringles • Fredric J. Baur

Stonehenge Reveals Itself:
It's a Cemetery

Scientists find remains from 3,000 to 2,500 BC, before the familiar stones went up

May 29, 08 6:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Before Stonehenge was Stonehenge, it was a cemetery, the New York Times reports. Around the time the first monumental rocks were installed in 2500 BC, the last of an estimated 240 human burials took place at the English site. Researchers say it was likely the burial ground of a... More »

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archaeology • cremation • England • Stonehenge • burial • cemetery

Pentagon Quits Cremating Troops Alongside Pets

Military remains had been sent to facility handling animals

May 10, 08 10:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Pentagon will stop sending fallen troops to a crematorium that also handles pets, McClatchy reports. A Delaware Air Force base had been sending the bodies of troops killed in battle to a crematorium that had two separate facilities, one for humans, another for pets. The move was prompted by... More »

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Pentagon • cremation • US troops

Indian Activists Seek 'Green' Funeral Pyres 

Hindu cremation rites consume 50 million trees a year

Sep 3, 07 12:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - Indian environmental activists are taking aim at the traditional Hindu funeral pyre, which can burn over 800 pounds of wood while mourners watch the rite that is believed to free soul from body. Now a nonprofit group is peddling a "green cremation system," which uses a raised metal... More »

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India • cremation • environmentalism • deforestation • Hindu • funeral pyre • funeral • carbon emissions

Keith Did, In Fact, Snort Dad

But Rolling Stone
can’t get cocaine
satisfaction

Aug 7, 07 5:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - Keith Richards says that—reported denials aside—he did indeed snort his father’s ashes. The Rolling Stones sideman revealed in an interview yesterday that media reports had mixed up the story, and that he’d only meant to deny mixing the remains with a popular opiate. “I said... More »

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drugs • Keith Richards • Rolling Stones • cremation • cocaine • guitarist • musician

Keith Richards: "I Snorted
My Dad"

Rolling Stones guitarist is just as weird as we all suspected

Apr 4, 07 10:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - Legendary rock guitarist and professional strange person Keith Richards—still alive against all apparent odds—admitted yesterday to snorting cocaine laced with his own father's ashes. "He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared," he... More »

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entertainment • music • drugs • Keith Richards • Rolling Stones • rock stars • weird • cremation • cocaine

13 Stories


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