Making New Hampshire Funeral Information Easy to Find

What to do when someone dies is a mystery to most of us.

​But there is movement to regain the lost skills and self-reliance of previous generations, driven by a vision of creating more affordable, eco-friendly, meaningful and authentic ways of memorializing and caring for our own dead ourselves, in our own homes, in our churches, and in our communities.

​This movement is gaining momentum, guided by ethical and environmentally conscious values, seeking more congruent methods and practices that reflect our vision for the planet and provide a sense of place for those left behind.

Quick Find
For many, that will mean learning how to conduct a home funeral; for others, it will mean searching for a funeral director who will honor their unique ideas; for still others it will mean advocating for change in our municipal cemetery, hospital, and government laws and policies. However this reform in funeral practices and responsibility resonates with you, we are here to educate, to support, and to nurture new ideas that will change the way we do death in the best possible ways.
In New Hampshire, no one is required to purchase the services of a funeral director or funeral home. Families may conduct any or all tasks commonly performed by a funeral home (except embalming which is not required by New Hampshire law), and may bury on their own property if certain provisions are met. Sometimes called "family-led after-death care" or "home funerals" this may include:
  • bathing and dressing the deceased; 
  • sheltering the deceased at home;
  • spending time with the deceased (sometimes called a wake, vigil, or viewing);
  • filing the death certificate and obtaining a burial/transit permit;
  • making arrangements for final disposition (generally burial or cremation);
  • transporting the body home (or to another location) for care and viewing, and to place of final disposition;
  • making arrangements for any ceremony. ​​
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Join Me for Online and In-Person Presentations
​Courses and Conversations

PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS
Pushing Up Daisies: How Your Natural Burial Can Contribute to Climate Resiliency
Starr King Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Plymouth NH
August 3
9:30 am
​In person
Going Out Green for UUs
Concord Unitarian Universalist Church
Concord NH
October 26
​11:45 am
The Natural Burial Experience
Seacoast Village Project
Durham Library
October 28
10:30 am
CLASSES
Navigating the American Funeral
Aging Resource Center
September 12
10 am
Online
Register
The Eco-Friendly Funeral: Home Funerals and Green Burials
Aging Resource Center
September 26
10 am
Online
Register

Learn more

Looking for a presentation for your event? Or seeking assistance with green burial in your town? Contact Lee at  [email protected]
Free and paid online classes at Redesigning the End.com
Green Burial Masterclass
Green Funeral Services
Doulas and After-Death Care: Bridging Both Worlds
Hospice and Home Funerals In-Service Series
After-Death Care Mini Course for Doulas, Guides, and Individuals

Read teaching testimonials here: https://osher.dartmouth.edu/get_involved/study_leaders/meet_study_leaders/leewebster/

3 Approaches to Funerals

Meet Lee Webster, Funeral Reform Advocate

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As a writer, researcher, hospice volunteer, home funeral guide, conservationist, web designer, and frequent speaker on the benefits of home funerals and green burial, Lee Webster's career and volunteer service spans years in public relations and development for nonprofits, conservation groups, health agencies, private secondary schools, colleges and universities. She serves as the Executive Director of New Hampshire Funeral Resources, Education & Advocacy, is a former President and Vice Chair of Education of the Green Burial Council, and was a six-year VP and President of the National Home Funeral Alliance. She is a founding member of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's End-of-Life Doula Council, and the Conservation Burial Alliance.

​She is the author of several home funeral and green burial books, including Changing Landscapes: Exploring the growth of ethical, compassionate, environmentally sustainable green funeral practices and The After-Death Care Advocate Handbook, which includes titles previously published individually such as Essentials for Practicing Home Funeral Guides, Building Bridges Along the Death Care Continuum: Advocating for home funerals in hospitals, hospices, and care facilities, and the Planning Guide and Workbook for Home Funeral Families. She is a contributor to The Future of the Corpse, a collaborative book written with Columbia University's DeathLab. Along with co-instructor Holly Blue Hawkins, the Green Burial Masterclass Companion is now available in print. She has published articles and been interviewed for pieces that can be found in various news outlets, magazines, podcasts, and blogs, including Natural Transitions, American Funeral Director, FuneralOne, Funeral Business Advisor, Newsweek, PhillyVoice, the New Yorker, the New York Times, The New Republic, DeathTalk, EOL University, The Wall Street Journal, and many others. Webster is also responsible for design, content, and maintenance of various death care websites through SideEffects Publishing, Inc.

Lee has developed several cornerstone courses for professionals and lay people seeking to learn more about green funerals and burials, including Green Funeral Service, Doulas and After-Death Care: Bridging Both Worlds, Burial as a Conservation Strategy, and Hospice and Home Funerals In-Service Series. Co-taught with Holly Blue Hawkins through Redesigning the End is the 12-week online Green Burial Masterclass that covers the technical and ethical aspects of natural burial. You Shall Surely Bury: Jewish and Green Cemeteries is also co-taught with Jewish scholars Holly Blue Hawkins and David Zinner. She co-teaches Veterans Burial and Survivor Specialist Benefits Certification Training, preparing veterans for cemetery service in National, State, and public cemeteries.  She guest lectures and teaches frequently at colleges, universities, and life-long learning programs, including OSHER at Dartmouth College, OLLI at UNH, and Dartmouth's Aging Resource Center.

Webster is the 2024 recipient of the Green Burial Council Leadership Award. The award is presented to an individual, organization, or business that has demonstrated foresight, innovation, and extraordinary commitment to the environment through sustainability and attainability in the area of human death-care practice.