Latest Funeral Stories

A Dutch funeral company said its survey indicates Cried for You by Katie Melua is the top pick for funeral songs in the country. Yarden Funeral Directors said the song was the top choice of of 250 suggested on its Web site in an online poll of 6,000 people in the Netherlands, Radio Netherlands reported Thursday. The company said 30 percent of respondents chose Dutch-language songs, with recording artists Mathilde Santing and Robert Long having songs among the top five in the survey. Yarden...

A private funeral was held at a Chicago church Monday morning for three members of singer-actress Jennifer Hudson's family. Hudson's mother and brother were shot to death Oct. 24 in their home on Chicago's South Side. The body of Hudson's 7-year-old nephew was discovered in a parked sports utility vehicle on the city's West Side last Monday. The estranged husband of Hudson's sister Julia has been called a person of interest in the case, but has not been charged. He was being held on an...

By STEVEN G VEGH By Steven G. Vegh The Virginian-Pilot BARHAMSVILLE On a finger of lakeside forest at Makemie Woods, a Presbyterian camp, stout birch and oak trees stretch heavenward, trunks tied with blue ribbon. At their base, decaying leaves and twigs return to the Earth. Soon, so will human ashes. On Oct. 5, the grove will be consecrated as an Eco-Eternity memorial forest, an environmentally friendly burial ground for cremated remains. Over the coming years, up to 15 biodegradable...

BOSTON, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Tributes.com, an online resource for local and national obituary news, officially launched today -- forever changing the way people access obituaries and memorialize those who have been important to them. Through one centralized web destination, Tributes.com makes obituary and memorial service information easily and reliably searchable, while creating a safe place where families and communities can come together to share the treasured stories of those who...

A New York man is suing American Airlines for temporarily losing the casket that held his wife's body for four days. Miguel Olaya said the gaffe resulted in decomposition that was severe enough that he could not hold a traditional open-casket funeral for his late wife in their native Ecuador. "During those days, a thousand things went through my mind," Olaya, told The New York Post Tuesday "Where is she? Is she dumped somewhere like an animal?"Olaya alleges that American...

BURLINGTON -- Mr. Gene Alfred Snipes, 55, of 5558 Byrd Road, passed away Friday, August 22, 2008. Services will be conducted at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, August 26, at Allen's Chapel Baptist Church. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Alamance Funeral Service is in charge of arrangements. (c) 2008 Greensboro News Record. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

By Dwoskin, Elizabeth When Erhan Yildirim drives his 2006 Cadillac hearse up to the shipping dock at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the workers greet him by his first name. He's usually with his driver, Ahmet Tosum, and the two Turks cut a curious image as they unload a casket alongside a Whole Foods truck. The trusty Ahmet sports a permanent 5 o'clock shadow and half-tucked-in shirt. The chain-smoking, cologne- wearing Yildirim, on the other hand, dresses in designer suits from his...

WINSTON-SALEM -- Mr. James "Howard" Hester, 90, passed away on Friday, August 8, 2008, at his home. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, August 11, in Wallburg Baptist Church. Burial will follow the service, in Wallburg Church cemetery. Arrangements are by J. C. Green & Sons Funeral Home. (c) 2008 Greensboro News Record. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Grube, Olivia (Nee Gramoll) Of CEDARBURG. August 6, 2008, age 86 years. Beloved wife of the late Elwood. Dear mother of Harold (Mary Kay), Dennis (Debbie), Wallace and Jim (Sue). Further survived by 7 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, other relatives and friends. Funeral service Monday, August 11, 7 PM at Immanuel Lutheran Church, W61 N498 Washington Ave., Cedarburg. Interment Immanuel Cemetery. In state at the church on Monday from 4 PM until time of service. In lieu of flowers,...

HIGH POINT -- Mrs. Elzene Boyles Pierce, 75, died Tuesday, July 29, 2008. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, August 2, in St. Mary's Episcopal Church. Interment in the church columbarium will be private. Sechrest Funeral Service, E. Lexington Ave., is in charge of arrangements. (c) 2008 Greensboro News Record. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.