This AP article from Iowa talks about changing traditions in the funeral industry, such as how more and more people are personalizing caskets and services, and even processions.

Perhaps things in Iowa move a little slower than the rest of the Midwest; Central Ohio funeral homes have been doing things like that for years. It was very common for the family to ask us to go by the house or workplace on the way to the cemetery. Photos and mementos were pretty much the norm.

I always thought the best funerals were the ones where the life of the deceased was celebrated, rather than the loss mourned.