|
What To Do When Someone Dies - Tips On Organising A
Funeral
By Sharon Hurley Hall
When loved ones pass away, you'll want to make sure that
they have the funeral they deserve. Here are the main
aspects you need to consider when planning a funeral.
1. Viewing
When someone dies, family members and friend may wish to
view the body of their loved one. Viewing can assist
with the resolution of grief. It can help people accept
that death has occurred. Each family member's viewpoint
on visitation or viewing may be different, and this is a
very personal decision. The best option in most cases is
to leave the option of visitation open to an
individual's own emotional needs. Before or shortly
after death some people may be adamant that they do not
wish to view the deceased, then change their mind a
short time later. By presenting the option of
visitation, all family members' individual emotional
needs can be met.
2. Flowers, notices and memorials
In many communities it is traditional that friends and
family pay their respects by sending flowers or making a
donation to charity. Your local funeral director can
organise flowers for you. They can also collect, record
and distribute donations to charity on your behalf.
The obituary notice in a local, national or other
publication announces the death and funeral details and
can also become a tribute to the person who has died, by
perhaps containing a verse. Some people like to place
acknowledgement notices in the newspaper after the
funeral, thanking people who have supported them. Some
people also like to compile a book of compliments,
reflections and memories about the person who has died,
written by family and friends attending the service or
afterwards.
You don't have to decide whether to put a memorial on
the grave or on the site of the burial of ashes until
after the funeral. The regulations about what kind of
memorial can be put up, and when, vary considerably from
place to place. Your funeral director can advise you on
this and make any arrangements on your behalf.
3. Transport
You'll need to decide on the size and makeup of the
cortege (the hearse and the cars following it). Other
questions to consider include:
Will it be a standard, motorbike or horse-drawn hearse?
How many cars will be needed?
Where will the cortege leave from?
Will it take a special route?
Will you require wheelchairs for elderly or disabled
mourners?
Where will you return to afterwards?
4. Bearing the coffin
Some families decide that they would like to bear the
coffin themselves at the ceremony, instead of the
funeral director's staff. Bearers may be friends, family
members or colleagues of the person who has died.
5. Music
Many people now ask for specific pieces of music to be
played at the service. Your Funeral Director will be
able to advise you on this and make the appropriate
arrangements for you.
6. Eulogies
A eulogy is when someone pays tribute to a person's life
by saying a few words that will help remember that
person at the service. You can prepare a speech yourself
for this, or you may prefer to read a favourite poem or
passage.
7. Catering
You may wish to offer guests refreshments after the
funeral. You will need to decide who will provide the
catering and where it will be provided. You may prefer
to offer refreshments at your home or at a location
close to where the service has been held.
8. Burial or cremation?
If there is no grave in existence and a new grave is
required, this can be arranged directly with the
cemetery or through the funeral director. New graves are
expensive and the costs can increase significantly in
some areas if the deceased lived outside the cemetery
authority's boundary. The family organising the purchase
of a new grave should know what costs are before
finalising the funeral arrangements. Burials in
churchyards are subject to rules and regulations of the
church authority concerned. These rules are often very
strict in relation to the type of headstone or memorial
that can be placed on the grave following the funeral.
The restrictions can also extend to what is written on
the headstone. Those responsible for the funeral
arrangements should be aware of what memorial
restrictions are enforced before the interment takes
place to avoid any unnecessary distress later on.
If you opt for cremation, this will take place shortly
after the funeral committal service is over in the
crematorium chapel. Each coffin is cremated individually
and after each cremation the ashes are removed and kept
separately so that each family receives the remains of
their relative. If required these are usually available
for collection the next working day and can be placed in
the Garden of Remembrance at the crematorium. The ashes
can also be kept by the relatives, interred in a new or
existing family grave, or scattered in a place deemed as
appropriate by the family or as requested by the
deceased prior to death.
This is an option that will have been specified in
someone's Will or prepaid funeral plan.
So these are the usual options to consider. Other
possibilities can be discussed with your funeral
director or funeral plan provider.
Want more tips on freelance writing, blogging and
promotion? Visit Get Paid To Write Online for FREE
information and resources which will kick start your
writing career. Sharon Hurley Hall is a professional
freelance writer, ghostwriter and blogger. Contact her
now for well-written, timely web content writing.
|
