Clergymen officiated using traditional prayers and music, and a funeral home embalmed the body, placed it in a coffin, and buried it in the ground. That's changing as more families create personal rituals designed to reflect the individuality of the deceased. Some in the funeral industry are trying to adapt, saying if they don't they risk becoming irrelevant. NPR's John Biewen has the latest report in a series on the end of life. But when she does go, she does not want her body left to decay underground, nor does she want it cremated.
Parsons believes in reincarnation.
She wants to give her soul time to adjust before having to vacate the body to avoid making rash decisions and repeating old mistakes in the next life. So, she intends to have her body mummified. The nonprofit group has been offering the service since the mid-1980s. Some Mum hasn't done any human mummifications yet, because all of its customers are still alive. Tamu shows off what looks like a bronze sculpture of a sitting feline.