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Funeral FAQ
It's important to
recognize that funerals and memorial ceremonies are for the living
... for those who are affected by the loss of a loved one. It is
through the funeral process that a number of emotional needs are met
for those who grieve.
A funeral is similar to
other ceremonies in our lives. Like a graduation ceremony, a
wedding, a baptism, and a bar mitzvah, a funeral is a rite of
passage by which we recognize an important event that distinguishes
our lives.
The funeral declares
that a death has occurred. It celebrates the life that has been
lived, and offers family and friends the opportunity to pay tribute
to their loved one.
The gathering of family
and friends for a time of sharing and funeral service helps to
provide emotional support so needed at this time. This will help
those who grieve to face the reality of death and consequently, to
take the first step toward a healthy emotional adjustment.
The funeral can and does
take on many varied forms. Funerals can last from minutes to months
and are usually influenced by the lifestyle and values of the
bereaved family and friends.
"What Options
Are Available in Services and Disposition?"
A valuable aspect of
contemporary funerals is their individuality. Whether a ceremony is
elaborate or simple, funerals are often individualized to reflect
the life of the deceased and to hold special meaning for family and
other survivors. A service may reflect one's religious beliefs as a
reaffirmation of faith in a greater life beyond this world. Some
families choose to reflect upon the occupation or hobbies of the
deceased, and some choose to center the service around an ethnic
background or social affiliation.
In our society, three
basic forms of final disposition are practiced. The first is earth
burial, which continues to be the form of disposition chosen most
often.
Cremation is also a
choice. This is a process of preparing the body for final
disposition whereby the body is reduced by intense heat over several
hours to a few pounds of small fragments. These cremated remains are
usually placed in an urn, which may be buried, placed in a memorial
niche, or kept in some other location. Cremated remains may also be
scattered where permitted by law.
Finally, entombment in a
crypt is also a choice and is one of the oldest forms of
disposition. Today many cemeteries maintain crypts for entombment,
which may be in a mausoleum or in an outdoor garden.
"What Does a
Funeral Director Do?"
It has been estimated
that over 136 individual activities must take place in order for one
funeral to be conducted. The funeral director is actually an
organizational specialist.
Here is a condensed list
of some of the more visible activities of a typical funeral
director.
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Removal and transferring the
deceased from place of death to the Funeral Home.
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Professional care of the
deceased, which may include sanitary washing, embalming
preparation, restorative art, dressing, hairdressing,
casketing and cosmetology.
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Conduct a complete consultation
with family members to gather necessary information and to
discuss specific arrangements for a funeral.
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File all certificates, permits,
affidavits, and authorizations, as may be required.
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Acquire a requested amount of
certified copies of the death certificate needed to settle
the estate of the deceased.
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Compile information and create
an obituary for placement in the newspaper and/or website of
the family's choice.
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Make arrangements with a
family's choice of clergy person, church, music, etc.
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Make arrangements with cemetery,
crematory, or other place of disposition.
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The providing of a register
book, prayer cards, funeral folders, and acknowledgements,
as requested by a family.
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Offer the assistance of
notifying relatives and friends.
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Arrange for clergy honorariums,
music, flowers, death certificates, obituaries, additional
transportation, etc.
-
Care and arrangement of floral
pieces and the post funeral distribution as directed by a
family.
-
Arrange for pallbearers,
automobiles, and special services (fraternal or military) as
requested by a family
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Care and preservation of all
floral cards, mass cards, or other memorial contributions
presented to the funeral home.
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Your funeral director, with
his/her staff personnel, will direct the funeral in a most
professional manner, and be in complete charge of the
funeral procession to the cemetery or other place of
disposition.
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Assist a family with social
security, veterans insurance, grief counseling, and other
death-related claims.
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A post funeral meeting, by the
funeral director, with a family, to deliver such things as
the register book, floral and mass cards, and to ascertain
whether or not he/she can be of further assistance.
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