I would suppose that various religions and family traditions differ widely
across the country. My family (when practical) had open coffins before burial,
but no one ever touched the deceased. Practically speaking, you would be
touching wax and makeup and not the skin anyway. Some folks put flowers in the
coffins. I recall stories of the memorial for Hal Eberhart, a California
archaeologist, in which his wife put his beloved trowel, and students and friends
dropped mementos (including a bag of pot) before they closed the coffin and
buried him. Heaven only knows what some future archaeologist would make of
that coffin?
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.
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