Munck's Funeral.

[DrPusey]

I noticed that the Muncks have a picture of all of the boys and men standing around the headstone, but no women and girls -- either in that pic or a separate pic. Wonder what the thought is behind that.

I just thought that they probably had a similar picture with the wimminfolk, but didn't feel like posting it to the blog.

[fauxmenno]

A different family. The Wallers were in Mongolia, I think. This boy died of malaria.

[thoughtful]

I just thought that they probably had a similar picture with the wimminfolk, but didn't feel like posting it to the blog.

Could be, but why not? It may not be significant, but it just struck me, and nobody had mentioned it yet.

A different family. The Wallers were in Mongolia, I think. This boy died of malaria.

Ah, thanks -- I'd forgotten the geography involved in the Wallers' situation.

[gustava]

The stone has been there since 2005 though.

I'm confused. If the stone is that old, who got buried, and why are they posting about it now?

[DrPusey]

I'm confused. If the stone is that old, who got buried, and why are they posting about it now?

I think the headstone is for Papa Munck's father. The guy who just died was Mama Munck's stepfather. She mentioned in the blog entry that they were happy that her stepfather was going to be buried in the same cemetery as Papa Munck's parents.

[anniebgood]

You don't pay for a headstone at the National Cemetery. We buried my MIL last year. They give you a chart of things you can have put on the headstone. Here in CA at Riverside National, all the stones are flat against the ground. No stones above ground, it's easier for the groundskeepers and with 44,000 burials a year it's understandable.

I think they can contact the US Department of Veterans Affairs office for information getting the stone redone.

[Dysfundamental]

I wonder if it is a newish phenomena

Not in the US, no. There are tons of funeral photographs from the 1800s in most collections of antique photography. A good article about 19th century funeral photographs [link=http://mentalfloss.com/article/18576/only-creepiest-photos-ever-taken]here[/link].

[lilwriter85]

On my mom's side of the family, pictures at funerals are common. With my dad's side, I can't think of a funeral with pictures. I also don't think it is weird for family members to take pictures near headstones. The children of one of my deceased uncles live a few states away. During their last visit, they asked me take a picture of them standing around the headstone.

[So Says I]

Here's a little creepalicious slice of history. My mom attended primary school

in Neffs, OH back in the 1940s. Children from her school died of childhood diseases (Tetanus, Whooping Cough, etc) on a semi-regular basis back then. As an act of respect, the teachers would take the students from the school to the home of the deceased. The child would either be laid out on a table or sofa or in a coffin. My mom and her classmates made about a dozen such journeys in her time there. I always asked her how she could handle it and not be afraid. She would just reply that death (including that of kids) was a part of life back then and bodies weren't tucked away into funeral homes.

Another thing my grandma showed me from an old album was an aunt (I believe) holding her deceased toddler, who simply looked asleep. Like the previous post with the article from Mental Floss, I learned that memento mori were rather common in the early days of photography.

Yeah, I know all sorts of creepy shit. :twisted:

ETA: Dysfundamental, thanks for posting that excellent article!

[gustava]

[WonderingInWA]

Here's a little creepalicious slice of history. My mom attended primary school

in Neffs, OH back in the 1940s. Children from her school died of childhood diseases (Tetanus, Whooping Cough, etc) on a semi-regular basis back then. As an act of respect, the teachers would take the students from the school to the home of the deceased. The child would either be laid out on a table or sofa or in a coffin. My mom and her classmates made about a dozen such journeys in her time there. I always asked her how she could handle it and not be afraid. She would just reply that death (including that of kids) was a part of life back then and bodies weren't tucked away into funeral homes.

Another thing my grandma showed me from an old album was an aunt (I believe) holding her deceased toddler, who simply looked asleep. Like the previous post with the article from Mental Floss, I learned that memento mori were rather common in the early days of photography.

Yeah, I know all sorts of creepy shit. :twisted:

ETA: Dysfundamental, thanks for posting that excellent article!

I was visiting my cousin a few years back and he had a coffee table book on Post-Mortem Photography. It was creepy yet fascinating. It was something people did who may not have ordinarily spent the money (or had the money to spend) on photography when their deceased was alive. One of the most disturbing photos was of an entire family lying all together one next to the other on a bed, and they'd all died of shots to the head (which were visible). Now THAT's the way I'd want to remember my loved one (NOT).

ETA: Oh look -- here it is: http://www.amazon.com/Sleeping-Beauty-M ... 0942642325

[So Says I]

Thanks for the link. Looks fascinating!

[AnnC]

Chiming in here, but on one side of my family it was standard practice to take pictures at funerals. Pics of the casket and the flowers were a regular part of the proceedings. And yes. if there was an open casket - a couple shots of the deceased as well.

No people shots, or group photos. Just the dearly departed.

It would offend me if someone started taking "people shots".

[desertvixen]

I took the pictures at my grandmother's funeral, actually. At least the pre-church service and the graveside pictures, since I was busy being a pall bearer for the rest of it.

I don't find it weird.

[NurseNell]

Yeah but that could have been a mistake made by a public school educated mason. I have a relative's grave where the DOB is wrong and the middle name is spelled with the wrong letter - and those errors were made by the mason, not by the surviving family who wrote it out. Getting it changed is an ongoing battle because the undertaker insist we got our loved one's birthday wrong and couldn't spell her name.

The place behind me is a tombstone business. It's the only such business for several surrounding counties so he is very busy. He recently misspelled a name. It was a first name with a weird spelling. He goofed, freely admitted it. The family said it would be OK to sand out the misspelling and correct it but this particular carver is a perfectionist and knew it wouldn't look right so he made a new headstone, no cheap endeavor.

[DutchieV]

I used to work at a funeral home, specifically as the person that makes the video memorials and the memorial programs. We even had a couple people want a picture of the person in the coffin as the picture on the front of the memorial program. That was a bit far for me.

I know that my own mother has pictures of her mother in the coffin. My grandma had terrible Parkinson's with pain for many, many years and it was the first time in almost two decades that my mom had seen her mother relaxed and without all her muscles schrunched up. She took pictures because she was so beautiful and it was how she wanted to remember her. Different things for everyone.

[defrauding]

I was taught, growing up, that no photos (and covering mirrors) was to allow people to grieve openly and un-self-consciously.

Whether that is actually "official," or just the interpretation of the rabbis and family members with whom I came in contact, I don't know.

A friend of mine is a rabbinic student and has led several funerals, so I asked him. His answer? "Because it's in bad taste."

[Guest Anonymous]

I noticed that the Muncks have a picture of all of the boys and men standing around the headstone, but no women and girls -- either in that pic or a separate pic. Wonder what the thought is behind that.

In the older generations of my dad's family, (in the north of England), it was traditional for all the family to go to the funeral service, but only for the men to go to the actual burial. I remember the discussion about how we broke tradition when we went to my grandfather's graveside in the 1980s. I'm guessing that the woman's role was to go back and put the kettle on, ready to make tea when the burial was over.

[OkToBeTakei]

Not in the US, no. There are tons of funeral photographs from the 1800s in most collections of antique photography. A good article about 19th century funeral photographs [link=http://mentalfloss.com/article/18576/only-creepiest-photos-ever-taken]here[/link].

Thanks for the link (I think :lol: )

Really interesting. Especially the Victorian one.