Lee Webster was the featured speaker at our 2024 Annual Meeting and Program. She titled her talk “You Can Do This: Family-Led Funerals.”
Background about this program theme: Home funerals, affordable and meaningful, were once the norm. But after a century or more of outsourcing death care to funeral professionals, the ancient ways of conducting body care and funeral preparations have been largely forgotten. People feel uncertain about their right to care for their own dead. However, caring for your deceased at home in in your own way is meaningful, affordable, and legal. Although navigating systems the requirements of the funeral industry and state law can be challenging, home funerals are once again gaining in popularity and respect.
Lee Webster outlined some of the obstacles, possibilities, and rewards of the home funeral experience.
“What can we do to reclaim this privilege, reduce costs, and find solace in doing for ourselves? What rights do we have and how can we help others know more about their choices? How can we partner with funeral professionals while staying in charge of the things that help ground us during a loss?“
If you missed Lee’s program and would like to view our recording (from ZOOM), click this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/clips/share/6BiIpBfkTGuumZMzgjeZDg
Note: This 90-minute recording includes Q & A with the audience at the end. Please pardon our amateur effort at capturing this live program. The camera position was awkward; we did adjust it once. We wish we had selected “Audio Transcript” in the Zoom settings; instead, a volunteer was typing notes into the Zoom Chat, trying to keep up with the rapidly spoken words. You’ll see those notes as captions along the bottom of the screen; please excuse the typos.
Here’s a key handout provided at the meeting: Informant Worksheet for Certificate of Death. This Massachusetts worksheet informs families of REQUIRED information that will be needed to complete a death certificate. For example, the birthplace of each PARENT of the dying person, and the mother’s MAIDEN name! It is best to collect and write down such essential facts IN ADVANCE. Use this form as a handy place to collect and save the information. (We know that Massachusetts is updating its death registry system in 2025, so here’s a link to the current Informant Worksheet on Mass.gov. The form hasn’t changed, as of 6/12/2025.)
Lee Wester’s Bio: Lee is a writer, researcher, long-time hospice volunteer, home funeral guide, conservationist, funeral-related website content writer and designer, and frequent speaker on home funerals, green burial, and funeral reform on the local and national front. In her role as a funeral reform advocate, she has supported many families and individuals in designing and carrying out care for their own dead in the home. She has also worked with nonprofits, agencies, facilities, and legislators to educate decision-makers who create policies that empower families.
She is the author of several home funeral and green burial books, including
- Changing Landscapes: Exploring the growth of ethical, compassionate and environmentally sustainable green funeral service
- The After-Death Care Educator Handbook
Lee Webster’s experience with home funerals and burials informs her work as a nationally recognized leader in the end of life sphere. She has served in leadership positions with the National Home Funeral Alliance and the Green Burial Council, and helped found the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance and the Conservation Burial Alliance while directing New Hampshire Funeral Resources, Education & Advocacy.