Most of us have attended a traditional funeral ceremony. My first was the funeral of a neighborhood friend when I was eleven years old. It was my first experience with death and was unbearably sad. The memorial service was held at the local mortuary and there was a public viewing first just a few days after he died. The viewing is a time for loved ones and friends to say a final goodbye. Although it was called a “viewing”, my friend was in a closed casket. He died when he shot at a dove on an electrical line and the bullet sliced cleanly through the power line instead. It fell on him and killed him instantly but came to rest on the lower half of his face. That is why there was no actual viewing. The memorial service was emotional and sad but at the same time celebrated his life. Following the service we followed the hearse to the cemetery where the burial took place. There was another short service and then the funeral director (today they are often called Grief Counselors) dismissed us all before they lowered his coffin into the ground. This is still usually the way a traditional burial is conducted although cremated remains can be also be used in a traditional service. There are a myriad of caskets and urns available and the Grief Counselor can walk you through the options available not only for caskets and urns, but for services as well. They are required to give you a price list for services as well.
Even though traditional burials are fading in popularity due to diminishing land available for burial and because of the expense, I believe there will always be a market for this kind of service. There is comfort found in visiting departed loved ones at their final resting place, as evidenced by the frequent sight of people sitting by gravestones in cemeteries, and by the number of flower bouquets seen decorating gravesites. And genealogists have learned much about our ancestors by studying headstones from previous generations. I’ve always found it fascinating to wander through old cemeteries and read about the people who reside there and to wonder what their life was like and how they died. My relatives have a “family” plot located near a church in the south. It is very picturesque and although I don’t think I’ll choose to be buried there, I will still visit every decade or so and pay my respects to my grandparents and various aunts and uncles and cousins.
For more information on funerals and cremation and to read the “Consumer Bill of Rights” regarding a funeral service, peruse the National Funeral Directors Association site at www.nfda.org.
Most of us have attended a traditional funeral ceremony. My first was the funeral of a neighborhood friend when I was eleven years old. It was my first experience with death and was unbearably sad. The memorial service was held at the local mortuary and there was a public viewing first just a few days after he died. The viewing is a time for loved ones and friends to say a final goodbye. Although it was called a “viewing”, my friend was in a closed casket. He died when he shot at a dove on an electrical line and the bullet sliced cleanly through the power line instead. It fell on him and killed him instantly but came to rest on the lower half of his face. That is why there was no actual viewing. The memorial service was emotional and sad but at the same time celebrated his life. Following the service we followed the hearse to the cemetery where the burial took place. There was another short service and then the funeral director (today they are often called Grief Counselors) dismissed us all before they lowered his coffin into the ground. This is still usually the way a traditional burial is conducted although cremated remains can be also be used in a traditional service. There are a myriad of caskets and urns available and the Grief Counselor can walk you through the options available not only for caskets and urns, but for services as well. They are required to give you a price list for services as well.
