Shannen Doherty Detailed Her Funeral Plans And Wishes

Shannen Doherty, who passed away after a long battle with cancer, detailed her funeral and burial wishes on her podcast, “Let’s Be Clear.”

The popular actress wanted her remains mixed with those of her dog and father and scattered in meaningful places. She also talked about her preference for a small, sincere funeral.

In her final years, Shannen Doherty focused on creating memories with loved ones rather than accumulating possessions, emphasizing experiences like a cherished trip to Italy with her mother.

Doherty passed away on Saturday, July 13, at the age of 53 after a prolonged battle with cancer, but before her death, she left detailed plans for her funeral and burial arrangements.

In a January episode of her podcast “Let’s Be Clear,” the actress discussed her wishes: “I want my remains to be mixed with my dog, and I want it to be mixed with my dad. I do not want to be buried and not cremated.”

Doherty mentioned that her ashes should be dispersed in various “healthy mixtures.”

While reflecting on cherished memories, the “Beverly Hills, 90210” star suggested that she and her father’s ashes might be scattered in Malibu, California, a place where they spent “precious time” or in another beloved location.

She also entertained the idea of her remains being used to “grow into a tree.”

Regarding her funeral, Doherty revealed that she “wants a shorter guest list.”

She explained, “There’s a lot of people that I think would show up that I don’t want there. I don’t want them there because their reasons for showing up aren’t necessarily the best reasons, like, they don’t really like me and, you know, they have their reasons and good for them, but they don’t actually really like me enough to show up to my funeral.”

Doherty added: “[They’ll show up] because it’s the politically correct thing to do, and they don’t want to look bad, so I kinda want to take the pressure off them and I want my funeral to be like a love fest. I don’t want people to be crying or people to privately be like, ‘Thank God that b-tch is dead now.'”

In an April episode of “Let’s Be Clear,” Doherty discussed how she was letting go of physical possessions that no longer brought her joy, partly to make things easier for her loved ones after her passing.

She shared: “It feels like you’re giving up on something that was very special and important to you, but you know that it’s the right thing to do and that it’s going to give you a sense of peace and a sense of calm. Because you’re helping the people that you leave behind just have a cleaner, easier transition.”

As a collector of antique furniture, the “Charmed” alum also reflected on deciding which items to let go.

“I’m not enjoying it and others aren’t enjoying it, and do I really need any of it? Do I need to have three dining room tables?” she pondered, per People magazine.

“The answer is no, none of us really need all the stuff that we have, and we could all do with a little bit of downsizing and not become a hoarder, which I was doing with all my furniture,” Doherty added.

In the episode, Doherty emphasized focusing on creating memories with loved ones rather than accumulating material items during her remaining years.

“I don’t need this, it doesn’t really bring me any great joy, but what does bring me great joy is taking my mom to the places that she’s always wanted to go to,” she shared, adding, “I get to build different memories — I get to build memories with the people I love. I’m not digging into the money that’s in my estate that is going to make sure everybody in my life is taken care of.”

Reflecting on a trip to Italy with her mom, Doherty recounted, “[My mom] had tears pouring down her face because she never really thought that she would see that, and she certainly didn’t think that she was going to be able to see that with me. Those are the things that matter the most. Not your possessions, not what you have.”

Prior to her passing, Doherty’s final post on Instagram showed how optimistic she was about surviving cancer.

The actress shared a video clip on June 25 from an episode of her “Let’s Be Clear” podcast, where she talked about her chemotherapy and how it has been “scary” not knowing when it would end.

“I have no idea how long I’m going to be on the chemo for,” Doherty said. “I have no idea if it’s going to be three months or if it’s going to be six months or if we’re going to, you know, if, after three months, it’s not working if we are going to change again. Like, I don’t really [know]. That’s not something that I can predict. It’s not something my doctors can predict, and it’s scary. It’s like a big wake-up call.”

Doherty continued, “At the same time, I’ve got to say, there is some positivity there, and the positivity is that because [the] molecular structure of my cancer cells changed recently, it means that there’s a lot more protocols for me to try. So you know, for the first time, in a couple of months probably, I feel hopeful because there are so many more protocols now. Whereas, before, I was hopeful, but I was still getting prepared.”