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A severely burned Indian woman who was thought to be dead reportedly woke up in a hearse moments before she was going to be cremated. ... “We thought she was dead and informed others in the locality to arrange a hearse van to carry the body to the cremation ground,” her husband, Sibaram Palo, 54, .. One woman, K Chiranjibi, 50, who accompanied the woman in the hearse, said they had almost completed assembling the funeral pyre when they made the shocking discovery. ... “Just then, Bujji opened her eyes and responded to our calls,” Chiranjibi ... “Initially we were...

“A portion of his remains, from his heart, will be launched into orbit, where he will watch over the Earth, and we can track his location as he showers the world with love.” Munt, who also owns another cat named Zee, started Pikachu’s fundraising campaign about two months ago, and as of April 25, he has raised $1,615 of the $5,000 goal. Celestis charges $5,000 for its “Earth orbit pet launch service,” which is one of four different options the company offers for pet memorial spaceflights. According to celestispets.com, the container of the pet’s ashes will be “placed in Earth...

Concerns about Cremation: Some Very Strange Practices Are Emerging By: Msgr. Charles PopeSome years ago, the Church gave wider permission for cremation and also lifted traditional restrictions on having cremated remains present in the church for funeral Masses. All of this is pastorally understandable. Very few if any people these days choose cremation for the reasons it had traditionally been forbidden, namely as a denial of the resurrection of the body. Generally the reasons chosen are economic, due to the increasingly high cost of traditional burial and the difficulty, especially in urban areas, of finding room for large cemeteries. The basic norms from the church...

STAMFORD -- The 200-pound pet chimpanzee that mauled a Stamford woman nearly to death last week was cremated early Wednesday. Eileen Donofrio, office manager for All Pets Crematory & Remembrances in Stamford, said Travis the chimp was cremated at the request of the family.

MIAMI (AP) - The family of a severely brain-damaged woman who died after her feeding tube was removed in March said Friday they still have not been told where her remains will be laid to rest. Terri Schiavo's parents and siblings, who waged a lengthy court battle over her end-of-life wishes, said on Fox's "Hannity & Colmes" show that her husband is keeping her remains from them. "They were supposed to tell us, and we still have not heard from ... Michael Schiavo where Terri's been laid," said Terri Schiavo's brother, Bobby Schindler. "Our family expected this. Michael has disobeyed...