ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a historical look at undertaking— the business of dealing with the bodies of dead people. It explores what today's undertakers, people the chapter now callfuneral directors, actually do. This will be followed by an exploration of contemporary trends in burial and cremation. The chapter looks at the best practices of the funeral service industry through a short profile of Lynch and Sons, family undertakers. It describes how selected religious traditions deal with the disposal of the body and remember the lives of the deceased. A processional cross will precede the casket into the church, followed by the Paschal candle, book of Gospels, and other sacred items, some of which may be carried by members of the family. If the family has very strong cultural or religious traditions, how the mourning process is to unfold will be clearer to the parties.
