To Die and Live in L.A.
By Ella Piper Claffy
Come January, the body composting industry will offer Californians a new way to spend eternity.
In his final months with prostate cancer, 56-year-old Max Bozeman proposed several possible plans for his remains. Originally, his ex-wife told me, the Altadena resident wanted a funeral pyre on a lake, similar to Viking tradition. He ultimately decided on Earth Funeral, a Washington-based company that touts its quick composting process for human remains.
Within a week of his death in October 2024, Bozeman’s body was wrapped in a biodegradable shroud, adorned with wildflowers and placed in a long white tube with locally sourced organic mulch and wood chips. The vessel monitored temperature and air flow to maximize natural decomposition. Three months later, all that remained was nutrient-rich compost.
