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.
It may reflect one's religious beliefs as a reaffirmation
of faith in a greater life beyond this world.
It
may reflect the occupation or hobbies of the deceased. It
may center 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.
- Removal
and transferring the deceased from place of death to
Funeral Home.
-
Professional
care of the deceased, which may include sanitary washing,
embalming preparation, restorative art, dressing, hairdressing,
casketing and cosmetology.
-
Conduct
a complete consultation with family members to gather
necessary information and discuss specific arrangements
for a funeral.
-
File
all certificates, permits, affidavits, and authorizations,
as may be required.
-
Acquire
a requested amount of certified copies of the death
certificate needed to settle the estate of the deceased.
-
Compile
an obituary and place in newspapers of a family's choice.
-
Make
arrangements with a family's choice of clergy person,
church, music, etc.
-
Make
arrangements with cemetery, crematory, or other place
of disposition.
-
The
providing of a register book, prayer cards, funeral
folders, and acknowledgements, as requested by a family.
-
Offer
the assistance of notifying relatives and friends.·
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
-
Care and preservation of all floral cards, mass cards,
or other memorial contributions presented to the funeral
home.
-
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.
-
Assist
a family with social security, veterans insurance, and
other death-related claims.
-
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.
