Yesterday, 09/02/2025, at 2:04 PM, I lost my father. He passed away in hospice care after a years-long struggle with a combination of liver and kidney disease (among other complications that cropped up along the way).

My mother took care of him until the very last. They had been together for 38 years, over half their lives. He didn't want a service, just a basic cremation, which isn't absurdly costly compared to other funerary options, but I want to do what I can to take the monetary burden off my mom.

I'm going to leave it at that -- there isn't really any need to embellish the need.