text: This is refreshing.  Too many people are guilted into overpriced burial services that, to my way of thinking, do nothing for closure.  My mother wanted a similar approach, and while the tally for her cremation was about double, the family had a much more sincere and heartfelt goodbye with a simple gathering at the cottage, the place she loved best.  It was far better than a “traditional” service since it was relaxed and genuine.
  
  My father, by contrast, had a traditional funeral that cost upwards of 20K.  The service seemed phony to me and the catered lunch was terrible.  It was what my stepmother wanted, so I didn’t complain, but I would have preferred an informal gathering with stories and memories to a speech from a priest who never got to know him.
  
  I think it is a great pity that the costliest piece of furniture many of us will ever own is the box we are buried in.