Ancestral burial traditions in Japan are fading as birthrates decline. A man attending a funeral in Brazil died when he fell into his father’s grave. And pioneering rocker Chuck Berry was buried with a red Gibson guitar. His son explains how the funeral home and guitar company worked to make it happen. These stories and more are in the week in funeral news.
NEWS
A Vermont Woman Scrubs Grime from Gravestones and Researches Who Is Buried There
By Kimberlee Kruesi and Amanda Swinhart (Associated Press)
Carrying a large pump spray bottle and a small, sturdy brush, Caitlin Abrams stood before two starkly contrasting graves in a modest cemetery in western Vermont. Overcast skies hung low over a nearby hillside in full autumn color. Last year, Abrams had delicately cleaned the tombstone of Mary Bailey, who died in 1852 at just 21 years old. The still-pristine white marble stone stood out compared to the neighboring grave, holding Bailey’s sister Eliza, covered in grime and moss collected over the decades. Read more here.
Japan's Expensive Funerals and Declining Birthrates Are Transforming Ancestral Traditions
By Mimi Hanaoka (The Conversation)
Whenever I drive amid the mazelike bustle of Tokyo's Shuto Expressway, where approximately 1 million vehicles transit daily, I see billboard advertisements for all manner of businesses: dentists, hotels, car and tire companies, and affordable funerals. Lots and lots of funerals. Read more here.
It’s The Largest Cemetery in the South. So Why Do Few People Know It?
By Jim Auchmutey (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
They don’t do ghost tours at Westview Cemetery. It’s not that the sprawling necropolis off I-20 on the west side of Atlanta, GA, can’t feel spooky. Westview Abbey, the grand mausoleum that looms over the back of the property like a castle on a moor, holds the remains of more than 11,000 souls and exudes an air of eerie stillness. “Some people swear it’s haunted,” says Jeff Clemmons, Westview’s administrator, “but I don’t hold much for ghosts.” Read more here.
Cemetery Improvement Project in Hawaii to Develop Grave Database
By Michael Brestovansky (Aloha State Daily)
As state cemetery restoration projects continue around Hawaii, the Department of Accounting and General Services has plans for a database of people interred statewide. In 2025, DAGS received $2.3 million from the state Legislature to maintain the eight state cemeteries under the department’s care. Those cemeteries, established before the 1898 annexation of Hawaii, have fallen into disrepair over the decades. Read more here.
What Is a Good Death? Here’s What I Learned from Photographing the Dying
By Oliver Farshi (The Washington Post)
When I was a boy, my great-grandmother was an ailing presence in our family life. I remember visiting her flat in a suburb of Manchester, England, for the last time. The closets full of old dresses. The weathered linoleum kitchen floor. A piece of the Berlin Wall on a shelf. She was absent though. She had been moved to an old house filled with elderly people. I don’t remember her death. One day she simply ceased to exist. Read more here.
Grieving Son Dies After Falling into Father’s Grave While Attending Funeral
By Zoe Hussain (New York Post)
A man shockingly died after plummeting into his father’s grave while attending his friend’s funeral in Brazil, according to reports. Adilson Marsaro, 48, died in the freak accident while he attended a funeral for his acquaintance who died in a road accident at the São José Municipal Cemetery in Linhares. Read more here.
In China, 100,000 Farmers Guard Their Dead Against Forced Cremation
By Zheng Liqin (Bitter Winter)
For two weeks in September, crowds in Zhenxiong County, China, protected funerals and graves, defending ancestral rites the Chinese government has tried to erase since the 1950s. Read more here.
Multiple Gunmen Open Fire During Church Funeral, Killing at Least Seven and Wounding Dozens More
By Toria Sheffield (People)
At least seven people are dead and dozens more are injured after gunmen opened fire during a church funeral in Jordan. The incident occurred on October 23, 2026 at the St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church in Karak, a city in the southern part of Jordan. During a press conference held that evening, government and police officials confirmed that seven people had died as a result of the attack, and there were 34 known injuries at the time, according to Petra, a government-owned news agency. Read more here.
Rock Legend Chuck Berry Was Buried with an Electric Guitar
By Gary Graff (Guitar Player)
It's a well-known fact that Chuck Berry was buried with a Gibson ES-355 semi-hollow electric guitar to keep him company in the afterlife. But the story of how the guitar came to join Chuck in his eternal resting place hasn't been fully revealed, until now. As his son, Charles Berry, explains, it's “a crazy story, but absolutely true.” Read more here.