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Wow. RIP, kind lady. Say hi to Matto.

So, when my younger brother (only 48 at the time, ex STAS seminarian) passed away of cancer a few years ago, while I'm sad, in another way I'm a bit "jealous" (if you get my sense, not really though) of him.  To be free from this life, free from the possible loss of one's salvation, free from the constraints of these Original-Sin-crippled bodies (soma sema), knowing now everything that can be known, and (hopefully soon enough if not already) beholding the Vision of God.  He gets to see the Life of Our Lord and saints and other historical events, to know / understand every language, every piece of knowledge ever conceived by man.  He also now knows the earth is flat and that I wasn't as much of an idiot as he might have otherwise thought.

If one can imagine the best, happiest, most peaceful, most care-free and anxiety-free vacation ever, that's what they're experiencing (or, God willing, will soon experience) ... forever.

While I don't want to wax "Novus Ordo" by assuming their salvation, we do have some promises made by Our Lord and Our Lady regarding the First Fridays, First Saturdays, the Holy Scapular, etc. ... and they will not fail in those promises.

The will is generally not a good instrument to convey funeral instructions, it typically isn't looked at until after the funeral.  SimpleMan has structured things very well.  It is, in my opinion, especially good to lay out one's wishes (in writing) with their selected funeral home, as these instructions would be the very first docuмents looked at after a death.

The "rules" are set out by each state, not the federal government, so there can be 50 variations in the U.S.  It is always good to visit a local funeral home or attorney and learn what's applicable locally.  Most, if not all, states define who gets to make final care arrangements, which generally follow the same lineage as to who inherits an estate if there is no will.  One can preempt this by setting up one's own arrangements ahead of time, as SimpleMan has, especially if one has also provided adequate funding for the arrangements you want.

The last sentence of the quote from Marie Teresa may be very pertinent. Many don't realize that powers-of-attorney expire at the moment of death ... though some may think that the person they've given a "power-of-attorney to is also authorized to make their funeral arrangements.  Some (though I don't believe all) states provide for a "final care power-of-attorney" whereby one can designate someone outside of the "official family lineage" to make funeral arrangements for them when the time comes.

A very important detail to learn and follow ... Each state will have different rules as to what makes written instructions "binding".  At a minimum they need to be signed and dated.  Usually they need to be witnessed (the witness' full legal name should be both printed and signed and the date of signature provided).  Some states may require two witnesses.  Some states may require the signatures to be notarized.  If the rules haven't been followed for the state one lives in the docuмent may be invalid and non-binding.

As an aside, most funeral homes have a notary on staff.  Most banks provide complimentary notary service for their depositors.  Many church secretaries are notaries, so those who belong to a larger chapel with an office or school staff may be able to have docuмents notarized there.

Wow...  Good to know!  Thank you for sharing! 😇🙏