Same-Sex Couples May Get Funeral Leave

ALBANY, N.Y. (WIVB) - New York employers will soon be required to extend funeral and bereavement leave to same-sex couples.

A bill is headed to Governor Paterson's desk that would prohibit discrimination by employers who provide such leave to other workers. The bill would apply to couples in a long-term relationship that's financially and emotionally interdependent.

Your Time on Earth is Up!

A friend died who had a great sense of humor and always used to say that when she died she wanted a parking meter on her grave that says 'Expired.' So her nephew got her one on Ebay! Her grave is right by the road so everyone can see it and many people have stopped to get a chuckle...

Beware of Funeral Rip-Offs

Death is big business. How big, you ask? The National Funeral Directors Association says the average funeral costs $7,323 -- and that doesn't include the cost of a cemetery plot, a gravestone and burial services.

In all, dealing with the death of a loved one can cost more than $10,000, making it one of the most expensive purchases most families will make. So why do we do so little research on the topic?

"People are in denial about death right up until the bitter end," said Ed Markin, who runs the Funeral Help Program in Virginia Beach, Va. "You delay talking about it at your own fiscal peril is what it all boils down to."

Markin said funeral costs vary widely, controlled almost entirely by the amount of research you do — and when you do it. He said you can save almost 50 percent by shopping around and getting written quotes before you need them.

He suggests talking to your loved ones ahead of time about what they actually want in their funeral: the type of casket, the tone of memorial service, and whether they want to be cremated or buried.

Markin said he thinks funeral home directors sometimes guilt loved ones into paying for more expensive caskets and services by implying that anything less would be disrespectful.

To protect consumers, the Federal Trade Commission established the Funeral Rule, which requires funeral directors to give you itemized prices in person or, if you ask for them, over the phone. When you visit a funeral home shopping for a casket, the director must show you a list of all the caskets his or her company sells, along with the prices and descriptions, before showing you any models.

The Funeral Rule also states you have the right to buy individual goods and services. In other words, you don't have to buy a package deal with commonly selected goods and services. Funeral homes must allow you to buy services a la carte, so don't be pressured into buying more than you want.

Joshua Slocum, executive director of Funeral Consumers Alliance, said funeral directors sometimes try to "upsell" consumers to pricier, flashier casket models.

"Anytime (a funeral director) talks to you about a 'traditional funeral,' make a mental strike through those words and replace them with 'my highest-priced funeral,'" Slocum said.

After a loved one has just died, the funeral director "is in full control of their mental faculties, and you are not," he said. "They're not clergy. It's in their interest for you to spend a lot of money."

Slocum says also to be wary of prepaid funerals. While prepaid plans sound enticing, they often come with strings attached. Funeral homes usually pitch the plans as a way to lock in funerals at today's prices, saving you the cost of inflation. Cashing in the plans, however, can sometimes prove difficult.

If you are considering such a plan, review the contract carefully and understand exactly what you are buying. Ask where your money will be held and who will manage it. Some accounts that hold money from prepaid plans have gone under in recent years, leaving the folks who invested empty-handed. Make sure the contract has a provision that protects you if the firm goes out of business. Also check to see if there are fees to cancel the plan, or what happens if you move.

"Prepaid plans are a terrible idea," Slocum said.

He advises putting your money in a certificate of deposit, a savings account or a "pay on death" account at your bank. Make a trusted friend or relative the beneficiary, so that when you die, the money is immediately available.

Most important, shop around. Never look at just one funeral home. The more research you do, the better deal you will get.

Why you should know this:

Because the death of a loved one can scramble your common sense, it helps to study before you need the facts.

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New Funeral Technology - Flash Freezing

In Durban, South Africa, burial space has become so limited that according to the South African Press Association, funeral experts at the 2001 Funerex Conference in Durban suggested burying the deceased vertically to conserve space. In Athens, Greece burial space is at such a high premium that they must rent burial space. Once the lease is up, the remains are exhumed and place in a $55-per -year vault provided by the cemetery, according to the Baltimore Sun. In 1999, the BBC reported that London, England, faced such a burial space shortage that the city considered burying two or more caskets on top of one another in one plot.

The burial space quandary has contributed to the rising popularity of cremation, a process that frustrates many environmentalists because of the alleged potential of mercury from amalgam fillings polluting the atmosphere. According to the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, about 50 of the 69 crematories in Sweden do not meet today’s environmental requirements and must make major improvements in technology. In addition some religions staunchly oppose cremation, which leaves burial as the only option of disposition for some cultures. If a society cannot cremate a person due to religious beliefs and cannot bury that person because there is no more room, however, what options remain?

Twenty years ago, Susanne Wiigh-Masak a Swedish marine biologist, started brainstorming a different, more natural way to dispose of human remains. “I thought of the three ways a body can decompose: rotting, burning or mulching,” says Wiigh-Masak. “In Sweden, our priest say, ‘from soil you come, to soil you go.’ You have to imagine the first human beings on this planet. There were only a few and when they died, they fell where they stood. With the help of oxygen and other animals, their bodies eventually became soil-the mulching process. I wanted to mimic the mulching process in which the body naturally becomes compost, but I wanted to do it in a dignified way that the person isn’t decomposing in public.” Wiigh-Masak eventually developed a process called “promession,” which h involves freeze drying bodies and turning them into soil. With this idea, she founded the company Promessa Organi c AB, in Nosund, Sweden.

The Process

Rather than cremating bodies at high temperatures in a crematorium, this new process flash -freezes bodies to .18 degrees Celsius before immersing them in liquid nitrogen, where temperatures reach a chilling -196 degrees Celsius in a “promatorium.” When the bodies reach their frozen peak, they become very brittle. Once this happens, the bodies are broken down by the vibration of sound waves at a specific amplitude into a fine organic powder, which only takes 60 seconds at most. The powder is them warmed up to between 50 and 40 degrees Celsius and passed through a chamber where the remaining water is evaporated. Next any surgical parts or mercury that were in the person’s body are separated from the organic powder via a magnetic metal separator. Then the odorless powder which is now one-third of the original body weight is placed in a corn or potato starch casket and buried in a shallow grave (about 12 inches deep). In six months, the casket and its contents turn into “compost” that can be used to nourish a tree or any other foliage.

The Payoff

Promession appeals to those who believe life is cyclical and who wish to adopt a more natural approach to disposition, as well as cyclical and who wish to adopt a more natural approach to disposition, as well as cultures that frown upon cremation but fact a shortage of burial space. In order for this process to work as intended and gain acceptance at the same time, however Wiigh-Masak notes the necessity of three things: the remains need to be smaller and more water soluble, they must maintain their organic form for nutritional sake, and they must be unrecognizable as human remains for the sake of human acceptance. Promession is not only a way to conserve burial space, but Wiigh-Masak is also convinced that it will help balance earth’s ecosystem. “Our environment is like the economy,” she says. “If you take something out of the soil, you should be able to put something back; otherwise it will be an unbalanced situation. There are six-billion people in the world today and if everybody grows from the soil and gives nothing back, something is going to be very wrong.”

The Potential

Promession is still in its infancy. The town of Joenkoeping, 204 miles southwest of Stockholm, Sweden will soon begin operating the first freeze-drying facility. Promessa has since obtained patients for this process in 55 different countries, including some as far away as South Africa, and might expand to Scandinavia, Britain, Germany and the Netherlands next. Moreover, the demand for promession has already taken hold in other countries. Wiigh-Masak noted that she was contacted by a funeral entrepreneur in Switzerland who asked if they could ship bodies to Sweden for promession since the process is not yet available in his country. Wiigh-Masak has also started the Promessa Foundation, to which she will donate the patient. If this process garners more money, she says “it can be used to create a better world.” While this form of disposition has not yet crossed the pond to the United States, it might offer a new option for U.S. consumers in the future.

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Funeral Pick Up Lines

Use these to lighten the mood at a funeral home, (only if people are laughing and reminising):

1. "Do you come here often?"

2. "So, what brings you here today?"

3. "Your so hot, you could wake the dead."

4. (wink) "Who died in your family?"

5. "So, what time is your funeral service?"

6. "That's a nice hurse you have there."

7. "What shade of black do you have on?"

8. "Black really brings out the color of your eyes."

9. "That's a nice flower arrangement you have there."

10. "If you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here."

11. "You put the FUN in FUNeral."

12. "So, I take it your not seeing anyone?" (wink)

Robert Byrd Dead at 92

Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, the longest-serving senator in American history, died Monday at the age of 92, a spokesman for the family said.

Byrd, a Democrat who served in the U.S. Senate since 1959, had been plagued by health problems in recent years and was confined to a wheelchair. He had skipped several votes in Congress in the past months.

Jesse Jacobs, a family spokesman, said Byrd died peacefully at about 3 a.m. at Inova Hospital in Fairfax, Va.

He was the oldest member of the 111th Congress.

The passing of Sen. Byrd will not affect the balance of power in the Senate. West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, a Democrat, will appoint a replacement senator to serve out the remainder of Byrd's term, which ends in 2012.

July 5, 1967: Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, a fiery orator versed in the classics and a hard-charging power broker who steered billions of federal dollars to the state of his Depression-era upbringing, died June 28, 2010.

Pork or Progress? Either Way, Byrd Changed W. Va.

May 20, 2010: Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., readies his microphone as he arrives to question panel members on Capitol Hill in Washington, during the Senate Health and Human Services subcommittee hearing on mine safety.

Financial Reform in Jeopardy With Sen. Byrd's Death?

Statements from his longtime colleagues poured out Monday morning, as fellow senators remembered Byrd as a steadfast presence in the chamber and a veritable tome of knowledge on how the Senate works.

"The people of West Virginia have lost a dedicated public servant, and America has lost a great defender of its most precious traditions," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in a written statement. "He was the foremost guardian of the Senate's complex rules, procedures and customs, and as leader of both the majority and the minority caucuses in the Senate he knew better than most that legislation is the art of compromise. By virtue of his endurance, Robert Byrd knew and worked with many of the greats of the United States Senate."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a former senator, called Byrd the "heart and soul" of the chamber.

"It is almost impossible to imagine the United States Senate without Robert Byrd," she said.

A traditional black drape has been placed over Byrd's desk, a sign of respect for the deceased in Congress.

The veteran senator held a number of leadership roles during his tenure in the Senate, including conference secretary, majority whip and majority leader -- twice.

Prior to his death, Byrd worked as the president pro tempore -- the second highest ranking official in the Senate and the highest ranking senator in the majority party, putting Byrd third in line to the presidency.

He also served as the senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. Other committees on which Byrd served were the Senate Budget, Armed Services and Rules and Administration Committees.

Byrd, who never lost an election, cast more than 18,540 roll call votes -- more than any other senator in U.S. history. He had a 98 percent attendance record in his more than five decades of service in the Senate, according to his Web site.

Byrd was born Cornelius Calvin Sale, Jr. in North Wilkesboro, N.C., in 1917. When his mother died in the 1918 flu pandemic, he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle, who renamed him Robert Carlyle Byrd and raised him in the coal-mining region of southern West Virginia.

He received his law degree from American University in 1963, and his undergraduate degree from Marshall University in 1994 -- at age 76.

Byrd was widely regarded as a pre-eminent expert on constitutional law and legislative procedures. Because of his intimate knowledge of Senate rules, he was both feared and respected by his political opponents.

He helped win ratification of the Panama Canal Treaty and was well known for steering federal dollars to his home state. He was also a strong opponent to the Iraq war and vehemently defended minority party rights in the Senate.

He was elected to Congress in 1952, representing West Virginia's 6th Congressional District. Six years later, he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Byrd threw his support behind Barack Obama a week after the then-senator lost the West Virginia Democratic primary to Hillary Clinton during the 2008 presidential campaign -- an endorsement that symbolized the shift in his views on race.

Once a member of the Klu Klux Klan, it was the defining moment in his lifelong effort to convince the American public of his changed views on race.

"I have done my best to do the right thing," Byrd said during a March 2005 interview with Fox News, during which he was questioned about his KKK membership in the early 1940s.

"The people of West Virginia know that. They know the history. And they put it aside. They continue to return me. I was wrong, as many young men are wrong today, even when they join groups. That's all in the past," Byrd said.

Byrd characterized himself as a "born-again" Christian whose views on race were changed by "time, reflection and the teachings of the Bible."

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Eco-Friendly Freeze Dried Funerals

You may not want to think about this until its too late but, cremation uses fuel and releases green house gasses, caskets use trees, and embalming fluids are just full of all kinds of nasty stuff. And you thought dieing was the last of your problems. A Swedish company, Promessa Organic AB, has developed a method where the corpse is flash frozen, then dipped in liquid nitrogen (-196°C, -385°F) which makes it very brittle, then it is zapped with sound waves that shatter it into a powder and the moisture is vacuumed away. Pretty cool, basically you’re freeze dried like instant coffee. The remains can then be put in a container made of corn starch and buried in the ground were you will decompose quickly and ecologically. InventorSpot has eight suggestions for a greener funeral including the method above.

Today's funeral practices are not environmentally friendly. Between clearing land out to make burial sites, green house gases due to cremation, trees cut down to make caskets and embalming fluid which contains chemicals like formaldehyde, methanol, ethanol and other solvents, death is not as natural as it should be. Funerals are detrimental to the land, water and air. The good news is that green funeral options continue to grow in popularity.

Making Funerals More User Friendly?

In a bid to pre-sell more of their services to baby boomers, funeral homes are trying to make death a user-friendly experience Shakespeare in the Park plays, gospel concerts, bird watching, tree hugging, historical walking tours, jogging and picnics are not the first things that spring to mind when you think of cemeteries and funerals. But for Mount Royal Commemorative Services, on Montreal’s Mount Royal, it’s all part of bringing life to an industry long known for its deadly dull marketing.

Armed with research by Pollara, which found the single biggest thing consumers want from the funeral/ cemetery industry is information, “we decided to (use) our marketing efforts to say we’re committed to educating Montrealers and consumers about the funeral and cemetery profession,” says Tim Thompson, director of marketing for the non-profit cemetery and funeral complex. “We took the approach of trying to demystify the business.”

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Designer Caskets

Malcol McLaren, one of the godfathers of punk rock, passed away recently. His life was truly out of control, but so was his funeral.

Featuring a coffin that had the words ‘Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die’ and a horse-drawn hearse that had the anarchy symbol done in roses on the outside of it. The man who made the Sex Pistols what they were was given a send off befitting of a punk god.

Keep on rocking, Malcolm McLaren.

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Looking for a Designer Coffin?

Previously I mentioned the Uono Designer coffin. Now, it appears that there are multiple companies competing in the space of designer coffins. Who knew there were so many options?

Northern Virginia Funeral Home Fined for Mishandling Bodies

A Northern Virginia funeral home that acts as a regional embalming facility for a national corporation has been penalized by the state for violations that include improperly storing bodies in the facility's garage and hallways.

National Funeral Home and the Virginia Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers signed a consent order this week in which the Falls Church facility agreed to two years of probation, a $50,000 fine and six unannounced inspections each year. A two-year suspension was imposed but immediately stayed. It could take effect if the funeral home is found to have any violations in the next two years.

Employees at the funeral home raised concerns last year that hundreds of bodies were being mishandled at the facility. A Washington Post article in April 2009 detailed allegations that bodies had been left on hazardous-materials boxes and makeshift gurneys; deceased veterans were placed on garage racks for months while awaiting burial at Arlington National Cemetery; and some bodies were left exposed and leaking fluids.

Photographs taken in the funeral home documented the alleged abuses, and family members of the deceased said they had no idea that their loved ones' bodies had been taken to the facility and were not being properly stored in refrigerated areas.

State board officials said Wednesday that the $50,000 fine is one of the highest financial penalties ever handed to a funeral establishment in Virginia and that the six annual inspections are the most the board has ever ordered. By accepting a consent order, National Funeral Home and its parent company, Houston-based Service Corporation International, avoid the possibility of having their licenses revoked at a formal board hearing.

"Their behavior was not according to the law and the regulations," said Lisa Hahn, the board's executive director. "They are going to be closely monitored. The board has taken this very seriously."
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Lisa Marshall, a spokeswoman for Service Corporation International, said the agreement is not an admission of guilt but is a way to put the issue to rest so that National Funeral Home and its employees can focus on serving clients. "It's a reflection of what we think is the right thing to do," Marshall said. "It was time to put this behind us."

Steven Napper, a former Maryland state trooper who worked as an embalmer at National Funeral Home, was the first to come forward with concerns about the conditions there. He provided evidence of the problems and allowed family members to learn how their relatives were being treated. Other employees confirmed his accounts.

Napper -- who recently opened his own funeral home in Maryland, Eternal Faith Funeral Services -- said Wednesday that he thinks coming forward was the right thing to do and that the punishment is appropriate.

"This was really the whole purpose," Napper said. "I just thought people should be treated a lot better than they were. I'm really happy to hear this."

Families of those whose bodies were stored in the garage were shocked to learn how their loved ones were treated and said it was a great indignity. Families of military veterans who later were buried at Arlington National Cemetery are pursuing civil lawsuits against the funeral home.

The revelations about the problems sparked quick action last year by the state board and Virginia legislators.

Del. Kenneth Cooper Alexander (D-Norfolk), the only licensed funeral director in the General Assembly, sponsored legislation that requires bodies to be refrigerated and requires a funeral home to tell family members where -- and under what conditions -- the deceased will be stored before burial or cremation. The House and Senate unanimously passed the bill, which takes effect July 1.

"We should honor and treat our dead with dignity," Alexander said. "The conditions that are in the bill, I seriously believe that they are needed and are good for the industry. It was an effort by everyone to do the right thing."

Marshall said that National Funeral Home has installed additional refrigeration units and wants to maintain a high level of integrity.

"National Funeral Home has been part of its community for a long time," Marshall said. "We want to remain important to the community and want to demonstrate the high level of service the community has come to expect from us."

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Funeral Home Fined in Arlington Problems

FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- A Virginia funeral home accused of mishandling bodies awaiting burial at Arlington National Cemetery has been fined $50,000.

The Virginia Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers and National Funeral Home signed a consent order Monday. National agreed to the fine, two years probation and a half-dozen unannounced inspections per year, said Lisa Marshall, spokeswoman for Service Corporation International, the funeral home's parent company.

A former employee had accused the Falls Church funeral home of storing bodies in hallways and on unrefrigerated storage racks in a garage. Funeral home officials acknowledged they stored bodies in the garage, but never for long.

The Washington Post reported on the allegations last year.

The agreement is not an admission of guilt, but a way to settle the issue, Marshall said Wednesday.

"It was time to put this behind us," she said. "The [funeral home's] associates were continually distracted by the ongoing investigation."

The Post reported last year that the former employee's documentation, as well as the observations of three other employees and a grieving son, sparked an investigation by the state board.

Marshall said the funeral home has added refrigeration and tightened regulations, policies and training.

"There is a renewed focus on respect for our families," Marshall said.

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Bio-degradable Caskets

Now it’s essential to remain stylish even in the grave. The German design house UONO has created a concept to revolutionize the tradition coffin. An actual benefit of this new product is the fact that it is made of jute and a water based varnish so it’s actually visually stimulating and bio-degradable.

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Coffin Restaurants?

Coffins are a bit creepy, but for some reason, they’ve been the focus of inspiration for many designers, including a Ukrainian restaurant. The world’s first coffin restaurant was built by undertakers and serves up morbid, death-themed dishes.

The structure of the Macabre restaurant is the world’s largest coffin at 20 meters long, six meters wide, and six meters high. This odd establishment is called Eternity and it is the brainchild of a local group of undertakers from the resort town of Truskavets near the Polish border.

Morbid diners can browse the funeral paraphernalia before ordering from a menu that includes “Nine Day” and “Forty Day” salads - named after local mourning rituals - and an ominous-sounding dish called “Let’s meet in paradise”. Coffins of a normal dimension serve as tables and single candles on the tables contribute to the funereal mood.

The undertakers hope that their restaurant will be confirmed as the world’s biggest coffin, attracting tourists to a region best known for its mineral-rich bathing waters.

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Urn Found in Parking Lot

ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. -- Authorities in southwestern Wyoming are looking for the owners of an urn found in a parking lot.

The Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office said the urn was found near the Walmart in Rock Springs on Wednesday and turned in by a traveler.

The city is located off Interstate 80.

Sheriff's spokesman Dick Blust said the urn lists a name and the year the person was born and died -- 1947 and 2009.

Public records show there were four people with that name and lifespan. The sheriff's office is contacting public records offices in the states where they lived -- Michigan, Florida, Kentucky and Illinois.

Authorities won't release the name until they return to remains to the family they belong to.

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Dogs Inherit $7 Million

A man is filing a lawsuit after his late mother left $25 million to staff members and bequeathed $3 million and her Miami Beach mansion to her three dogs, Miami television station WPLG reported.

Gail Posner passed away in March at age 67. In her will, she provided her Chihuahua, Conchita, and two other dogs the right to live in her $7 million home and a $3 million trust fund.

Staff members received a collective $25 million to care for the pooch -- keeping Conchita in custom Cartier collars, doggie spa days and fancy cars.

Posner's only son, Bret Carr, who inherited only $1 million, has filed suit in Miami-Dade County court claiming the staff members scammed his mother into changing her will.

The housekeeper at the mansion was not available for comment Thursday.

Carr's lawyer said his client, who lives in California, was not in town.

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IKEA Funerals?

It was only a matter of time before IKEA ventured into coffins. Artist Joe Scanlan has created simple coffins for $15,000—or a book for $27.50 that tells you how to make your own coffin from IKEA parts for less than $400.

Joe Scanlan’s artist statement advocates staging death in times of personal turmoil or rebirth like changing careers.

Whether natural selection, death with dignity, or suicide, intimations of death have gotten artists through many a hard night. Staging death is also an effective way to express a wish, foment resistance, or change careers. You can enjoy the same piece of mind by investing in your eventual demise. Here at Things That Fall we offer three different burial options. Custom is an elegant and unique vessel crafted in Australia entirely from Tasmanian Blackwood and shipped to you.

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Crazy Coffins

Coffins are usually traditional in design, but these final resting places are anything but traditional. Imagine being buried in what is shaped like a giant Louis Vutton luggage bag or a man-sized skateboard?

For many people, these coffins are ridiculous but you must admit that they are hard not to look at.

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Manute Bol Dead at 47

Manute Bol, a lithe 7-foot-7 shot-blocker from Sudan who spent 10 seasons in the NBA and was dedicated to humanitarian work in Africa, died Saturday. He was 47. Bol died at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville, where he was being treated for severe kidney trouble and a painful skin condition, Tom Prichard, executive director of the group Sudan Sunrise, said in an e-mail.

"Sudan and the world have lost a hero and an example for all of us," Prichard said. "Manute, we'll miss you. Our prayers and best wishes go out to all his family, and all who mourn his loss."

Bol played in the NBA with Washington, Golden State, Philadelphia and Miami, averaging 2.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocks for his career. He led the league in blocks in 1985-86 with Washington (5.0 per game) and in 1988-89 with Golden State (4.3 a game).

"Manute's impact on this city, our franchise and the game of basketball cannot be put into words," 76ers president and general manager Ed Stefanski said in a statement. "He ... was continually giving of himself through his generosity and humanitarian efforts in order to make the world around him a much better place, for which he will always be remembered."

Bol joined the NBA with Washington in 1985 and played three seasons there. He returned to the team briefly toward the end of his career. The Wizards lauded him as a "true humanitarian and an ambassador for the sport of basketball."

"Despite his accomplishments on the court, his lasting legacy will be the tireless work and causes he promoted in his native Sudan and the cities in which he played," the club said in a statement.

After the NBA, Bol worked closely as an advisory board member of Sudan Sunrise, which promotes reconciliation in Sudan. .

Bol was hospitalized in mid-May during a stopover in Washington after returning to the United States from Sudan. Prichard said then that Bol was in Sudan to help build a school in conjunction with Sudan Sunrise but stayed longer than anticipated after the president of southern Sudan asked him to make election appearances and use his influence to counter corruption in the county.

He said Bol had undergone three dialysis treatments and developed Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a condition that caused him to lose patches of skin. Prichard said the skin around Bol's mouth was so sore he went 11 days without eating and could barely talk.

Prichard said it's believed Bol contracted the skin disease as a reaction to kidney medication he took while in Africa.

Janis Ricker, operations manager of Sudan Sunrise, said Saturday the organization will continue its work building the school in Bol's home village in southern Sudan. She said Bol's goal was to build 41 schools throughout Sudan.

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Personalized Funerals

An entrepreneur named Lynn Isenberg has brought new life to death with novel, personalized funerals. These services are far more than just an order of service, some tears and hymns sung out of tune.

From the volume of her business, it seems that there are a lot of people out there who don’t want doom and gloom funerals.

A funeral for a lifelong golf enthusiast, for example, includes an end-of-life celebration on the 9th hole, complete with glow-in-the-dark golf balls engraved with the name of the recently deceased.

For her own death she has planned an outdoor showing of To Kill a Mockingbird. Great idea.

And there is more. For example, the wake for an ice cream man from Rockland included, naturally, his ice cream truck, which was parked in front of the funeral home with its bells jingling and lights flashing. The ice cream truck later led the procession to the church and then to the cemetery. After the burial, free ice cream was handed out.

Even funeral homes are starting to cater to lighthearted services. Palm Mortuary in Las Vegas, for example, offers “Life Celebrations” such as the The Western Sunset package, which features scuffed boots atop a bale of hay.

Can't Live Without Your iPhone?

If you really can’t live without your iPhone, you might as well be buried in one. Well, not a real one, but a coffin that resembles an iPhone.

Not an Apple fan? Maybe a heart-attack after Microsoft’s Blue Screen Of Death wipes away your work before you save it will warrant a Microsoft Vista desktop wallpaper coffin.

All these alternative coffin ideas come from Creative Coffins, a company that believes in providing, “A Green solution for those who want a distinctive and practical funeral.”

Hit the gallery below for more geeky coffin ideas including Halo 3’s Master Chief and a GTA IV-inspired coffin design. I also included some designs from their “Pastime” collection which includes hobbies such as wine drinking, gambling, bowling and guitar playing.

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Northern Virginia Funeral Home Fined for Mishandling Bodies

A Northern Virginia funeral home that acts as a regional embalming facility for a national corporation has been penalized by the state for violations that include improperly storing bodies in the facility's garage and hallways.

National Funeral Home and the Virginia Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers signed a consent order this week in which the Falls Church facility agreed to two years of probation, a $50,000 fine and six unannounced inspections each year. A two-year suspension was imposed but immediately stayed. It could take effect if the funeral home is found to have any violations in the next two years.

Employees at the funeral home raised concerns last year that hundreds of bodies were being mishandled at the facility. A Washington Post article in April 2009 detailed allegations that bodies had been left on hazardous-materials boxes and makeshift gurneys; deceased veterans were placed on garage racks for months while awaiting burial at Arlington National Cemetery; and some bodies were left exposed and leaking fluids.

Photographs taken in the funeral home documented the alleged abuses, and family members of the deceased said they had no idea that their loved ones' bodies had been taken to the facility and were not being properly stored in refrigerated areas.

State board officials said Wednesday that the $50,000 fine is one of the highest financial penalties ever handed to a funeral establishment in Virginia and that the six annual inspections are the most the board has ever ordered. By accepting a consent order, National Funeral Home and its parent company, Houston-based Service Corporation International, avoid the possibility of having their licenses revoked at a formal board hearing.

"Their behavior was not according to the law and the regulations," said Lisa Hahn, the board's executive director. "They are going to be closely monitored. The board has taken this very seriously."

Lisa Marshall, a spokeswoman for Service Corporation International, said the agreement is not an admission of guilt but is a way to put the issue to rest so that National Funeral Home and its employees can focus on serving clients. "It's a reflection of what we think is the right thing to do," Marshall said. "It was time to put this behind us."

Steven Napper, a former Maryland state trooper who worked as an embalmer at National Funeral Home, was the first to come forward with concerns about the conditions there. He provided evidence of the problems and allowed family members to learn how their relatives were being treated. Other employees confirmed his accounts.

Napper -- who recently opened his own funeral home in Maryland, Eternal Faith Funeral Services -- said Wednesday that he thinks coming forward was the right thing to do and that the punishment is appropriate.

"This was really the whole purpose," Napper said. "I just thought people should be treated a lot better than they were. I'm really happy to hear this."

Families of those whose bodies were stored in the garage were shocked to learn how their loved ones were treated and said it was a great indignity. Families of military veterans who later were buried at Arlington National Cemetery are pursuing civil lawsuits against the funeral home.

The revelations about the problems sparked quick action last year by the state board and Virginia legislators.

Del. Kenneth Cooper Alexander (D-Norfolk), the only licensed funeral director in the General Assembly, sponsored legislation that requires bodies to be refrigerated and requires a funeral home to tell family members where -- and under what conditions -- the deceased will be stored before burial or cremation. The House and Senate unanimously passed the bill, which takes effect July 1.

"We should honor and treat our dead with dignity," Alexander said. "The conditions that are in the bill, I seriously believe that they are needed and are good for the industry. It was an effort by everyone to do the right thing."

Marshall said that National Funeral Home has installed additional refrigeration units and wants to maintain a high level of integrity.

"National Funeral Home has been part of its community for a long time," Marshall said. "We want to remain important to the community and want to demonstrate the high level of service the community has come to expect from us."

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Funeral Tradition Upended in Puerto Rico

Since the bodies of two young slaying victims appeared at wakes posed in upright positions, a trend has taken hold in a youth subculture marked by violence and bravado.

Angel Luis Pantojas was 6 when he saw his slain father's body in a casket and declared: Not me. At my wake, people will see me on my feet.

So when he was shot 11 times, twice in the face, and tossed over a bridge in his underwear 18 years later, Pantojas got his wish. Pantojas' family tethered his corpse to the wall, where streams of strangers came from throughout Puerto Rico to see the latest curiosity they dubbed el muerto parao — dead man standing.

"You couldn't fit another soul in this room," his aunt Ana Delia Pantojas recalled, showing the holes in the housing project living room wall where the corpse was bound two summers ago. "All sorts of people came here to see him — lawyers, judges. Everyone was talking, saying things like, 'For my wake, I want to be in my recliner with a cup of coffee.' "

The buzz eventually faded, until last month, when David Morales Colon, another young homicide victim from the neighborhood, was embalmed hunched over on his motorcycle. Morales, like Pantojas, was a member of San Juan's growing urban youth subculture in which guns are rampant and lives are often short.

Their "exotic wakes" caused such a sensation that authorities including the Department of Health and the state attorney started poring over the penal code.

Puerto Rico's House of Representatives convened special hearings. The funeral home owners association held an emergency board meeting.

But even as the funeral directors decry exotic wakes as sacrilegious offenses to tradition, this much appears to be clear: The practice is legal. And when a third Puerto Rican man was embalmed on a motorcycle in Philadelphia last week, the trend, to experts' dismay, had come to be seen as a fad in a subculture marked by violence and bravado.

"I see it as a challenge to the authorities: 'You killed me, but you didn't knock me down,' " said Jorge Lugo Ramirez, president of the Puerto Rico Funeral Home Assn. "These kinds of people are surrounded by easy money and guns. We can't be promoting that."

The association asked the Department of Health to investigate and make a rule prohibiting such wakes, requiring that viewings be conducted with the corpse in a coffin — horizontally. Although the burials were normal, morticians fear that exotic wakes will become such a hit that the funeral homes that prepare the most outrageous cadavers will steal business from traditional competitors.

"It could get out of control," Lugo said. "What if one of these guys kills a police officer and wants to be buried with his hands in the form of a V for victory? We'd be supporting something very negative that's going on in our country. The point is that we should not lose our traditions."

But Lugo acknowledges that people have been abuzz about it, requesting funerals on bikes, cars or buses they drove for a living. "I guess then we'd have to conduct the wake in the parking lot," he said with a laugh.

Technically speaking, Lugo was impressed.

"As a professional, I had to admire the work," he said. "The funeral director said she had a secret formula. As an embalmer, let me tell you: It should not be secret. I would like to know how they did it."

The Marin Funeral Home, which handled the wakes for both Pantojas and Morales, is not telling. At first, funeral home manager Elsie Marin talked to the media, and at Morales' motorcycle wake, even handled the body to show the gawking crowds and cameras that it was real.

When it was revealed that she does not have an embalmer's license, Marin hired a lawyer and declined further interviews, although she later said that the work was contracted to a licensed embalmer. Morales' family also declined to discuss it.

"We're done talking about that," said an uncle who would not give his name.

Cultural anthropologist Melba Sanchez, author of the Spanish-language book "Death: Social Aspects and Contemporary Ethics," said the funeral directors shouldn't be in such a tizzy. They should know that funeral traditions change with the years and have evolved to suit individual tastes.

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Mortician Accused of Mishandling Corpses, Abusing Drugs

The state board that licenses funeral homes in Ohio has opened an investigation into a funeral director in Findlay, Ohio, who is accused of mishandling a corpse, being naked in public and wearing the jacket of a deceased man in front of his family.

Though Gregory Routson, owner of Routson Funeral Chapel, is not facing any criminal charges, his funeral home has been closed pending an investigation, according to a notice of suspension issued Monday by the State of Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors.

State regulators said they began the investigation after receiving a complaint from a family last week.

Other allegations against Routson include being intoxicated or addicted to illegal drugs, not properly disposing of waste materials and failing to properly sterilize instruments used in embalming. He's also accused of being naked in public during business hours, threatening and/or harassing employees and partially embalming a corpse and then leaving it un-refrigerated for 13 days.

Routson did not return calls to his funeral home, but he told CNN affiliate WUPW that the accusations are not true. Since being shut down on Monday, he said he's been inundated by concerned customers who have prepaid for funeral arrangements.

"I'm sorry that this had to happen," he said. "Because they entrusted their final wishes to me, and it should have never happened."

Routson can ask the state board for a hearing or file an appeal in court within 30 days.

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Ashes Stolen From Car Before Funeral

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A thief stole the cremated remains of a woman's father from her car in broad daylight.

Charlene Postell came back from lunch at the Schlotzsky's on South Lamar Boulevard to find her car window shattered. The incident happened around 3 p.m. Thursday.

A thief stole Postell's purse, which contained the ashes of her late father, Charles Postell. Her family said it's hoping whoever stole it will realize what it is and return it. Authorities said any church downtown will take the ashes.

"It's a large box. It's a heavy box. It's my father," said Charlene.

Charles' funeral is scheduled for Friday.

"I want the ashes back," Charlene told KXAN. "My brother is flying in from California right now. He doesn't know what has happened. I don't know. We want my father's ashes back. We want to be able to bury him next to his wife, next to my mom."

The Cook-Walden Capital Parks funeral home is offering a $500 reward for the return of the ashes, which are in a box labeled with Postell's name.

"We are shocked and saddened to learn that the cremated remains of Mr. Charles Postell were in a purse stolen from his family's vehicle earlier today," said Cook-Walden General Manager Robert J. Shalvey Thursday. "Mr. Postell was to be interred in our cemetery tomorrow. While it is unthinkable that a family would be victimized in this fashion, our primary concern and the family's at this time is the safe return of Mr. Postells cremated remains."

In addition, Shalvey said the reward is being offered without condition or question for the safe return of Charle's cremated remains.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Cook-Walden Capital Parks at (512) 251-4118 or the Austin Police Department at (512) 974-5000.

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Former Funeral Director Denies Forging Death Certificates

A former funeral home director accused of forging death certificates and misplacing money pleaded not guilty to multiple charges on Friday.

Authorities said Marvin Boatright, who lost his funeral director's license in 2007, forged another person's name on at least 10 death certificates between 2007 and 2009.He's also accused of taking money, around $7,000 each in most cases, for prearranged funerals, but not placing it in a trust within 30 days, as required by law.

Boatright, who was indicted on 14 charges, told 6News' Rafael Sanchez outside of court on Friday that he is innocent and plans the fight the allegations."Let me say, we have well over $1 million in pre-funeral trust and insurance and those monies are protected," he said. He also denied forging death certificates.

Authorities launched an investigation into Boatright after the body of an infant was found in a garbage bin last year, along with supplies from Boatright's business, Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said.Boatright isn't facing charges related to the baby.

A third lab will soon begin DNA testing to confirm the identity of the parents of the child.

Officials asked anyone who may have paid Boatright for funeral pre-planning to call 317-327-5600.Boatright's trial is set for Aug. 23.

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A Funeral Home for Pets?

This Saturday, Pets at Peace will open its storefront location. The funeral home is the first of its kind in Toronto, offering bereaved pet owners the chance to host memorial services, cremations, or burials for their deceased pets.

Helen Hobbs, president of Pets at Peace Pet Loss and Memorial Services and a licensed funeral director, has run her business online for the past seven years. She said she decided to open a storefront in response to customer requests to meet in person and view products firsthand.

Pets at Peace boasts 24/7 on-call service and grief resources to help owners deal with their loss.

Prices for cremation start at $225 for small (up to 20 lbs). More information is available on their website.

Sound absolutely crazy? Probably. If you don't have a pet.

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My Living Will

I, __________, being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means. Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of pinhead politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it, or lawyers / doctors interested in simply running up the bills. If a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail to ask for at least one of the following:

• Glass of Wine
• Sex
• Chocolate
• Margarita
• Chocolate
• Sex
• Martini
• Cold Beer
• Chocolate
• Chicken Fried Steak
• Cream Gravy
• Chocolate
• Sex
• Mexican Food
• Chocolate
• French Fries
• Pizza
• Chocolate
• Ice Cream
• Coffee
• Chocolate
• Chocolate
• Sex
• Chocolate

It should be presumed that I won't ever get better. When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my appointed person and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes, let the 'fat lady sing,' and call it a day!

Rue McClanahan Dead at 76

Rue McClanahan, the Emmy-winning actress who brought the sexually liberated Southern belle Blanche Devereaux to life on the hit TV series "The Golden Girls," has died. She was 76.

Her manager Barbara Lawrence said McClanahan died Thursday at 1 a.m. of a stroke.

She had undergone treatment for breast cancer in 1997 and later lectured to cancer support groups on "aging gracefully." In 2009, she had heart bypass surgery.

McClanahan had an active career in off-Broadway and regional stages in the 1960s before she was tapped for TV in the 1970s for the key best-friend character on the hit series "Maude," starring Beatrice Arthur. After that series ended in 1978, McClanahan landed the role as Aunt Fran on "Mama's Family" in 1983.

But her most loved role came in 1985 when she co-starred with Arthur, Betty White and Estelle Getty in "The Golden Girls," a runaway hit that broke the sitcom mold by focusing on the foibles of four aging -- and frequently eccentric -- women living together in Miami.

"Golden Girls" aimed to show "that when people mature, they add layers," she told The New York Times in 1985. "They don't turn into other creatures. The truth is we all still have our child, our adolescent, and your young woman living in us."

Blanche, who called her father "Big Daddy," was a frequent target of roommates Dorothy, Rose and the outspoken Sophia (Getty), who would fire off zingers at Blanche such as, "Your life's an open blouse."

Fellow "Golden Girl" Betty White called McClanahan a close and dear friend. "I treasured our relationship," said White, who was working on the set of her TV Land comedy "Hot in Cleveland" on Thursday. "It hurts more than I even thought it would, if that's even possible."

McClanahan snagged an Emmy for her work on the show in 1987. In an Associated Press interview that year, McClanahan said Blanche was unlike any other role she had ever played.

"Probably the closest I've ever done was Blanche DuBois in 'A Streetcar Named Desire' at the Pasadena Playhouse," she said. "I think, too, that's where the name came from, although my character is not a drinker and not crazy."

Her Blanche Devereaux, she said, "is in love with life and she loves men. I think she has an attitude toward women that's competitive. She is friends with Dorothy and Rose, but if she has enough provocation she becomes competitive with them. I think basically she's insecure. It's the other side of the Don Juan syndrome."

After "The Golden Girls" was canceled in 1992, McClanahan, White and Getty reprised their roles in a short-lived spinoff, "Golden Palace."

McClanahan continued working in television, on stage and in film, appearing in the Jack Lemmon-Walter Matthau vehicle "Out to Sea" and as the biology teacher in "Starship Troopers."

She stepped in to portray Madame Morrible, the crafty headmistress, for a time in "Wicked," Broadway's long-running "Wizard of Oz" prequel.

In 2008, McClanahan appeared in the Logo comedy "Sordid Lives: The Series," playing the slightly addled, elderly mother of an institutionalized drag queen.

During production, McClanahan was recovering from 2007 surgery on her knee. It didn't stop her from filming a sex scene in which the bed broke, forcing her to hang on to a windowsill to avoid tumbling off.

McClanahan was born Eddi-Rue McClanahan in Healdton, Oklahoma, to building contractor William McClanahan and his wife, Dreda Rheua-Nell, a beautician.

She graduated with honors from the University of Tulsa with a degree in German and theater arts.

McClanahan's acting career began on the stage. According to a 1985 Los Angeles Times profile, she appeared at the Pasadena (California) Playhouse, studied in New York with Uta Hagen and Harold Clurman, and worked in soaps and on the stage.

She won an Obie -- the off-Broadway version of the Tony -- in 1970 for "Who's Happy Now," playing the "other woman" in a family drama written by Oliver Hailey. She reprised the role in a 1975 television version; in a review, The New York Times described her character as "an irrepressible belle given to frequent bouts of `wooziness' and occasional bursts of shrewdness."

She had appeared only sporadically on television until producer Norman Lear tapped her for a guest role on "All in the Family" in 1971.

She went from there to a regular role in the "All in the Family" spinoff "Maude," playing Vivian, the neighbor and best friend to Arthur in the starring role.

When Arthur died in April 2009, McClanahan recalled that she had felt constrained by "Golden Girls" during the later years of its run. "Bea liked to be the star of the show. She didn't really like to do that ensemble playing," McClanahan said.

McClanahan was married six times: Tom Bish, with whom she had a son, Mark Bish; actor Norman Hartweg; Peter D'Maio; Gus Fisher; and Tom Keel. She married husband Morrow Wilson on Christmas Day in 1997.

She called her 2007 memoir "My First Five Husbands ... And the Ones Who Got Away."

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Funeral Costs

A woman's husband died. He had $20,000 to his name. After paying all of the funeral expenses, she told her closest friend that there was no money left.

The friend asked, "How can that be? You told me he had $20,000 a few days before he died. How could you be broke?"

The widow replied, "Well, the funeral cost me $6,500. And, of course, I had to make the obligatory donation to the church, pay the organist and all. That was $500, and I spent another $500 for the wake, the food and drinks, you know. The rest went for the memorial stone."

The friend asked, "$12,500 for the memorial stone? My God, how big was it?"

The widow replied, "Three carats."

Funny Tombstone Sayings

In a Thurmont, Maryland cemetery:
Here lies an Atheist,
All dressed up and no place to go.


On the grave of Ezekial Aikle in East Dalhousie Cemetery, Nova Scotia:
Here lies Ezekial Aikle,
Age 102.
Only The Good Die Young.


In a London, England cemetery:
Here lies Ann Mann,
Who lived an old maid,
But died an old Mann.
Dec. 8, 1767


In a Ribbesford, England, cemetery:
Anna Wallace
The children of Israel wanted bread,
And the Lord sent them manna.
Clark Wallace wanted a wife,
And the Devil sent him Anna.

In a Ruidoso, New Mexico, cemetery:
Here lies Johnny Yeast...
Pardon me for not rising.

David Gerber Dead at 86

The Emmy-winning producer and executive behind series such as Batman and thirtysomething died Jan. 2 at age 86 of heart failure.

Casey Johnson Dead at 30

The 30-year-old Johnson & Johnson heiress and fiancee of Tila Tequila was found dead Jan. 4.

Johnson, who was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes as a child, died of diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition caused by a lack of insulin and high blood sugar.

Teddy Pendergrass Dead at 59

The soul and R&B icon behind such hits as "Love TKO" and "Joy" died Jan. 13 at age 59 from colon cancer. The former Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes lead singer continued to record and perform after a 1982 car accident that left him paralyzed.

Jay Reatard dead at 29

The garage-punk musician was found dead at age 29 at hs home on Jan. 13.

The Memphis native recorded with numerous bands, giving him a prolific output of 22 full-length albums and more than 100 releases.

Jennifer Lyon Dead at 37

The Survivor: Palau finalist died Jan. 19 at age 37 after a five-year battle with breast cancer.

"She was an inspiration," Survivor: Vanautu and Survivor: Micronesia Fans vs. Favorite cast member Eliza Orlins said.

"Jenn brought more good to this world in her almost 38 years than most will in a lifetime."

Jean Simmons Dead at 80

The two-time Oscar nominee died Jan. 22 at age 80 after a battle of lung cancer.

Simmons shared the screen with many of Hollywood's leading men, including Gregory Peck, Spencer Tracy, Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier.

James Mitchell Dead at 89

The All My Children died at age 89 on Jan. 22 of lung disease complicated by pneumonia.

Best known as patriarch Palmer Cortlandt on the ABC soap opera, Mitchell portrayed Cortlandt for three decades, most recently appearing on the series' 40th anniversary special on Jan. 5.

Zelda Rubinstein Dead at 76

The 76-year-old actress died Jan. 27 two months ago after suffering a mild heart attack.

The Pittsburgh native is most famous for her role as the psychic in Poltergeist.

JD Salinger Dead at 91

The enigmatic and reclusive Catcher in the Rye author died Jan. 27 at age 91 of natural causes.

Weary of the fame following the success of Catcher in 1951, Salinger withdrew from the public eye and spent the last few decades in seclusion at his New Hampshire home.

Frances Reid Dead at 95

The Emmy-nominated actress, best known as Days of Our Lives matriarch Alice Horton, died Feb. 3 at age 95. Reid portrayed Alice for 42 years, from the soap opera's Nov. 8, 1965 debut until her final appearance on Dec. 26, 2007.

Justin Mentell Dead at 27

The 27-year-old speed skater-turned-actor died Feb. 1 after crashing his Jeep into two trees in rural Wisconsin.

Mentell was best known as attorney Garrett Wells on Boston Legal.

Phil Harris Dead at 53

The Deadliest Catch star and fishing boat captain died Feb. 9 at age 53 after suffering a stroke during a fishing trip on a vessel named Cornelia Marie at the end of January.

Alexander McQueen Dead at 40

The 40-year-old British fashion designer hanged himself in his home on Feb. 11.

Toxicology tests later showed that McQueen tried to overdose on cocaine, sleeping pills and tranquilizers before hanging himself.

Doug Fieger Dead at 57

The Knack lead singer who co-wrote the new-wave band's biggest hit, "My Sharona," died Feb. 14 at age 57 after a battle with cancer.

Andrew Koenig Dead at 41

The body of the former Growing Pains star was found in Vancouver's Stanley Park on Feb. 25, a week after he was reported missing.

Koenig, who suffered from depression, committed suicide, his father, Star Trek alum Walter Koenig, said.

Corey Haim Dead at 38

The former teen idol died March 10 at age 38 of an apparent overdose.

Haim, who rose to fame alongside Corey Feldman in the '80s, had long suffered with drugs.

Robert Cult Dead at 79

Culp, 79, died of a heart attack March 24 after collapsing, or possibly tripping, on the sidewalk.

Though he has more than 100 credits to his name, the actor was best known as Kelly Robinson on I Spy, opposite Bill Cosby.

The series was the first prime-time show with a black actor in a lead role.

Peter Graves Dead at 83

The Mission: Impossible and Airplane! star died March 14 of natural causes at age 83.

In addition to his Golden Globe-winning role on Mission: Impossible, Graves appeared on The Love Boat, 7th Heaven and Cold Case.

Merlin Olsen Dead at 69

The Hall of Fame football player-turned-commentator-turned actor died of mesothelioma at age 69 on March 11.

A member the Los Angeles Rams' defensive line, the Fearsome Fourseome, Olsen became a color commentator on NBC after retiring and later co-starred on Little House on the Prairie as Jonathan Garvey, Michael Landon's sidekick.

In 1981, Landon tapped Olsen to headline his own series, Father Murphy.

Meinhardt Raabe Dead at 94

Raabe, who played the the Munchkin coroner who proclaimed the Wicked Witch of the East dead in The Wizard of Oz, died April 9 from cardiac arrest at the age of 94.

After Oz, Raabe, who grew to 4 1/2 feet tall, toured the country in the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile for 30 years as "Little Oscar, the World's Smallest Chef."

Malcolm McLaren Dead at 64

The Sex Pistols manager died April 8 of cancer at age 64.

In addition to overseeing the 1970s band, which released one album, Never Mind the Bollocks: Here's the Sex Pistols, McLaren created Bow Wow Wow and also managed the New York Dolls and Adam and the Ants.

John Forsythe Dead at 92

The 92-year-old, best known as Blake Carrington on Dynasty and the voice of the mysterious Charlie Townsend on Charlie's Angels, died April 2 from complications of pneumonia.

Forsythe earned two Golden Globes and three Emmy nominations for his portrayal of the conniving Blake Carrington.