The clues remain unsolved from this man’s crossword puzzle suicide note since 1926. The 1920s saw the boom of the crossword puzzle craze that enveloped the world in obsession. Clothing resembling the black and white patterns of the puzzles became wildly popular, and railroads in the United States provided dictionaries on their trains for commuters. [...]

Tens of thousands of families each year face their “worst days” with a lighter burden because the funeral is planned and funded in advance. Recent consumer studies show that a majority of consumers believe advance funeral planning is a “good thing to do.” One of the benefits cited is the ability to provide funding for [...]

Scattering ashes from a hot air balloon has become popular. The whole process takes about half an hour and some hot air balloon baskets can accommodate 15 people.  With so many options available for interments, some people will opt for the less costly cremation. When the ashes are collected, they can be kept, buried or [...]

A recent study, has found that celebrities have a shorter life span than any other group of people. Fame, it comes with a lot of perks. The glitz and the glamor of stardom is the envy of many people, from the large paychecks to the adoration of fans. But for all the perks of infamy, [...]

F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda were reinterred at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Rockville. Photo by Jay Henry – Wikipedia F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda lay peacefully at rest in the St. Mary’s Cemetery in Rockville, Maryland. In recent years a handful of visitors might wander through the cemetery looking for the [...]

“When the Saints Go Marching In” was made popular by Louis Armstrong when he recorded the song in the 1930s. Arguably one of the most catchiest and well-known pieces in gospel history, “When The Saints Go Marching In” is an example of a song that has penetrated many genres across the musical spectrum. The song [...]

No one has died on the Island of Itsukushima since 1878 and people facing imminent death are transported to communities away from the Torii Shrine as the Delphic Oracle prohibited death near the shrine. “Death, the one appointment we all must keep, and for which no time is set.” – Charlie Chan During the 5th [...]

Some notable people have predicted their own deaths and even the way that they would die. The fickle finger of fate is an enigma of unfathomable proportions, but sometimes, some of us are capable of foreshadowing the events to come. When we wake some mornings, we can instantly tell if it will be a good [...]

The Hall of Memory in Birmingham, England was built in 1922 to honor the 12,320 citizens of Birmingham who died during WWI. War memorials, for the better part of human history were once used as commemorations to the great victories and to the leaders of these victories – the Arc de Triomphe in Paris listed all [...]

Graveyard Vineyards is a boutique winery located next to a cemetery in the Paso Robles area of California. Wine has had a long, rich and cultural history. It has been seen as the symbol of blood, with blood representing life; evolved as part of European life, culture and diet; and emerged as not just an [...]

Sometimes children don’t grasp concepts that we think are self explanatory. The child in this story envisioned participating in the burial process in a very real way. Photo by Jenny Rollo It is often said that to really experience life, you should see it through the eyes of a child. Never is that more true [...]

A Dutch Company called OrthoMetals has developed a way to recycle medical implants and benefit charities at the same time. As cremation continues to rise as an alternative source to the traditional burial, one thing few have ever considered is the remains of orthopaedic implants – from plates and screws from legs and skulls to [...]

Two competing undertakers, one whose wife was the town’s telephone operator and directed all calls to her husband led the other undertaker to design a switch that ensured that he would get calls directed to him. It was in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1888, when Almon B. Strowger stormed through the door of his undertaking [...]

If you heard an owl hoot during a burial service, English folklore says that the dead would rise from their graves. The ancient Greeks revered owls and believed that the birds were sacred to Athena the goddess of wisdom but to many ancient cultures owls were associated with magic and darkness. The penetrating and unmoving [...]

Google now allows its users to delete their accounts after they have timed out for a pre-requested amount of time.  In the day and age of social media interactions, websites such as  Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and StumbleUpon have long asked for the creation of a personal profile. With so many user accounts floating around in the [...]

Humphrey Bogart died January 4, 1957 at the age of 57. His last words : “I never should have switched from scotch to martinis.” In the literal sense famous last words are the final remarks of a person before their death – it comes from a notion that during that moment between life and death, [...]

Most, if not all cemeteries in use today have rules about what you can and can not do to decorate the plot of a loved one. The English author and publisher William Tegg, wrote in 1876, “There is perhaps nothing else so distinctive of the condition and character of a people as the method in [...]

The modern public fascination with celebrities can be traced back to the rise of newspapers and magazines and the popularity of the obituaries in the 18th century. As any up-and-coming journalist will often be told, every person has a story. In the case of obituaries, every life has a story, how those stories are told [...]

There’s a trend in the funeral industry and it starts with the roughly 76 million Baby Boomers who are approaching their retirements. It’s a big wave, but the focus isn’t simply on how they’ll retire, but in planning ahead for the inevitable and this means choosing their final resting places ahead of time – a [...]

After yet another long and bleak winter, the sun is shining brightly and spring is in the air. It’s the time of year in which everyone rejoices as they begin the anticipation of summer. While many will begin their spring by cleaning out their houses and setting up their backyards with lawn furniture and gardening [...]