Please tell me this can't be true!

[JaffaCake70]

My Mum visited this afternoon, we were talking about wills and things that the departed have left in trust for their loved ones. During the course of the conversation Mum told me the following:

When my Grandmother passed away a few years ago at the age of 82, my Mum's older Sister wanted her wedding ring (for sentimental reasons).

When my Auntie went to collect the ring the undertakers gave it to her and told her that it had been stuck on my Nanna's finger so tight that they had cut her finger off in order to retrieve the ring.

I feel sick. Please please please tell me that this can't possibly be true? Has anyone else had experience of anything like this? I just can't believe it's true.. but if it's not true why would my Auntie, who isn't one for making things up, say it is?

I work in a funeral home and we would never cut anyone’s finger off or in fact any other part of their body, ever. Whilst I cant speak for others, my profession is one of caring and respect for everyone in our care and it’s appalling that anyone would even think such a thing. We have several ways of removing rings and the last resort would be to cut this off but only after we have discussed this with the family and sought written permission.

Maybe it was a cut-price funeral?!

But the whole point of getting the ring off is to give it to the recepient of the ring in the will. It would be pretty pointless cutting the ring, rendering it useless and destroyed. Surely the better option is to cut the finger from a corpse and reattach prior to burial than destroy a sentimental value item?

Absolute rubbish! Stop spreading misinformation.
I too work in a funeral home. We would do our best to remove a ring, but if all else fails, we cut the ring (with permission from the family)

When my mother passes away, if her wedding ring is stuck on her finger and can't be removed, I'll tell the undertakers to bury her with it. No way would I consent to lopping bits off her just for the sake of a bit of jewellery.

Thank you, I was hoping this was the case.

It’s total nonsense. This has happened to 3 relatives, they use a special compression device to shrink the finger down.

They absolutely do not cut off people’s fingers for rings.

I worked for a funeral directors I. The early 90s, absolutely would never ever happen. Ever. Many ways to get a ring off , that’s not one of them.

That’s a flat lie.

A special compression device to shrink a human finger?? Tell us more!

Separate thing, but my DF died recently.

He was being cremated, so they did remove his pacemaker (otherwise apparently it can cause explosions!). They didn’t remove his artificial hip, but we were asked if we wanted it with the ashes (as of course being metal it doesn’t burn) - apparently some people do say yes! We didn’t….

Surely there are laws against removing body parts of the deceased (with the exception of organ donation and other heavily regulated reasons)?

My grandmother put her wedding ring on in 1918 as a young woman and it didn't leave her finger until her death in1985, when she had badly arthritic hands, I couldn't see how they could get it off but they did. It was given to us unbroken and I'm wearing it now.

I also saw her before the funeral and all her fingers were intact.

(()) for you OP.

Same here. I can’t believe that a dead person’s finger would be cut off to retrieve a ring. It’s the ring that is cut, surely.

My mums rings we got back in November were all totally bashed out of shape because they must of struggled to get them off. I'm sure they don't cut fingers off. They'd be more likely to cut the ring, there would be no need to cut off a finger.

I don’t understand how you can’t understand this. Chop at the knuckle .

Part time undertaker here!

Yes, we cut off rings we cant get off with soap and water, we use a jewellers ring cutter, same too that is used to remove a stuck ring from a living finger. Its standard practice, if no other way we can get it off.

I guess it would be more practical to cut the finger off as it's not going to be used again! but that would be seen as disrespectful!

Indeed it would be easier, but would be seen as disrespectful, however if a client specifically asked us to do it that way it would pose no problem - never had that though!

I was told my granny's ring was removed by cutting off her finger. It would have been about 30 years ago, so maybe it was a practice then? Or maybe I was told incorrectly at that time? I haven't really thought about whether it was likely or not. I do remember thinking that it was information I did not need to know at the time! Her ring is definitely not cut, so if it wasn't a misunderstanding about what got cut.

So long as said digit ended up in the same casket, no problem, no law against. We don't always get a body in one piece so it would be no different.

Cutting it off with a proper ring cutter doesn't render it useless and totally destroyed though. They can generally be mended in a way that you'd never notice unless you're a jeweller.

Could well be, in the UK open casket funerals are uncommon, so it wouldn't be a problem or illegal to do it that way, we certainly have the instruments required at the mortuary.

My dm died at home and I was asked to remove her jewellery. Her ring was tight and I couldn’t bring myself to tug at it so I left it on and went to another room as I couldn’t watch. They left her ring and watch on a side table and the ring was cut.

Thats why we do it that way, clean cut, can be soldered easily by a jeweller.

And I saw her hands when I went to visit her in the funeral home - they were intact.