Dr. Chris Burris
Dr. Burris talks about final body disposal preferences.
(Why) Would You Leave Like This?: Understanding Final Body Disposal Preferences
Dr. Chris Burris, Professor of Psychology, St. Jerome’s University
All of us will die – and something must be done with the body afterwards. Although decisions regarding a body’s postmortem fate often evoke strong emotions and opinions, what drives the massive variation in preferences among the future dead and their survivors remains poorly understood. Dr. Burris will present his Final Body Disposal (FBD) model developed to fill this knowledge gap so that people are better equipped to make sense of the many personal, practical, and policy considerations when facing the universal FBD question.
Dr. Chris Burris
Dr. Burris taught the Psychology of Death and Dying course at St. Jerome's University for over 25 years. For the past two years or so, Dr. Burris has been working on a psychological model that helps account for some of the individual variations that exist with respect to people’s preferences for final body disposal (FBD).
"Given the universality of the death event, the necessity of body disposal, and the intensely personal import of this “last decision,” I was amazed (but not exactly surprised) that such a model didn’t seem to exist.” ~C. Burris
This event is FREE!
Monday, September 28, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Town Hall — main floor
Village at University Gates - Schlegel.
250 Laurelwood Drive,
Waterloo, Ontario. N2J-0E2
Parking is free but if the Village at University Gates lot is full, participants can park across the street in the library parking lot.
Map