Category Archives: funeral home

Debunking Myths About Preplanned Funerals

The last few years have witnessed an increase in the trend of individuals planning their final disposition at funeral homes Willoughby Hills, OH. Doing so helps them to communicate their wishes with the family members to get a deserving end-of-life celebration.

But unfortunately, many individuals have unfounded generalizations about preplanned funerals. The reason is people tend to avoid discussing funerals or their traditions for obvious reasons. After all, who would like to talk about death?

Let us kick some common myths related to pre-planning a funeral out of the park.

1. Only Old People Preplan

The outbreak of corona pandemic further highlighted the reality that no one can predict death. Never put preplanning off until tomorrow what you can do today while you’re fit and healthy and can make pragmatic decisions.

Because of this reason, many young people plan their funerals even if they believe the death is years in the future.

2. Only Low-Income Families Preplan Their Funerals

A common misconception is that financial issues convince people to go for funeral preplanning. They tend to minimize the burden on their families once they die. It couldn’t be further from the truth.

While the financial aspect is a popular factor for funeral planning, it’s not the only reason. Most people who preplan their funerals are not under any financial strain when and they rather want to have the final service their own way.

When you preplan your funeral and share every single detail of how it should go, the family is in a better position to honor all your desires.

3. I don’t have Enough Time to Preplan

Preplanning doesn’t take much time, and if anything, it is worth your time just as an exercise, higher education, and office work. If you’re too busy in your work routine, just think of all the things you want in your after-life celebrations and how you want the bereaved to remember you.

Start writing down your wishes and think of all the ways you can personalize the event without overspending your budget. You don’t have to do it all at once. Take your time to make pragmatic choices.

4. Only You Can Decide How You Want to be Celebrated

No matter how close you’re to your family, only you know yourself the best when it comes to your final wishes. You may have told them some of your wishes, such as if you want to be buried or cremated, but a funeral service entails a lot more than you might think.

Once you start jotting down the details and digging into your preferences, you realize the importance of various events associated with a funeral service. The things that might seem irrelevant to you at first become important, particularly in today’s funeral industry, where you have a plethora of options to personalize your final disposition.

Now, the next step is to get in touch with a professional funeral director and start preplanning your funeral, not tomorrow, but today. It will make sure all your final wishes are fulfilled while your family has one less thing to worry about at funeral homes Willoughby Hills, OH.

Answering Questions About Visitation

If you’re planning a service at funeral homes Waite Hill, OH, you must also have a lot of unanswered questions about Visitation. In general, you don’t need to know much about a visitation event – unless you have to attend one.

Understanding the ins and out of this service before attending one is important to expect what you’re going to experience. Because of this, we have answered some common queries about visitation in this article.

Give it a read, and hopefully, it will clear out all your queries.

Question 1: What is visitation?

A visitation is an informal gathering held right before the funeral service when the funeral home has prepared the body. During the ritual, the guests pay homage and condolences to the bereaved family and reflect unwavering support.

Often, it is referred to as a wake or viewing.

Question 2: How does it differ from the funeral?

Viewing provides time and space for loved ones of the deceased to come together in a relatively informal setting. While the funeral is an organized gathering to formally say goodbye to someone who has died.

Both the visitation and the funeral may be held at either the funeral home or the place of worship. But mostly, families hold the visitation at the decedent’s home while the funeral is generally arranged in a funeral home.

Question 3: Is it okay to attend both the visitation and the funeral?

Absolutely yes, if the family gives you an invitation. It doesn’t matter if you knew the deceased well or were just an acquaintance, attending these services reflects your care and love for both the deceased and the bereaved family.

Question 4: What should I say at a visitation?

That’s a tricky part. Many people get confused about what to say to the bereaved family and often prefer avoiding them altogether. But truth be told, the family during such a tough time needs your empathy and support, albeit verbal.

One of the worst things that a grieving person faces is the void left by the death of someone they loved. Emptiness. Loneliness. When you see a person who has lost a loved one and you turn away, say nothing, or avoid talking about their loss, you’re virtually adding to their misery and grief.

Thus, try to introduce yourself at some point during the evening. Start with how shocked and sad you’re on hearing about the loss. Feel free to share with them any fond memories you have of the person who has died.

Psychologists conjure that hearing stories about the deceased gives solace to the mourners. Not to mention, this is the reason for the visitation in the first place. So know that anything you have to share will be welcome.

If you are having trouble finding the right words to say, simply expressing that you are sorry for their loss is just fine. But don’t prolong the conversation as other guests also have to offer their condolences. Lastly, try to speak less and listen more, and don’t interrupt the mourners no matter how irrational they may sound at funeral homes Waite Hill, OH.

Answering FAQs About Funeral Events

In this article, we are going to answer some common queries of people regarding cremation and funeral homes Mentor, OH, and related events. Give it a read and clear out your confusion.

1. How long after death is cremation?

With the rise in the popularity of cremation, this is one of the most common questions of people. Since cremation doesn’t involve embalming, it takes place within a day or two after death. The next-of-kin needs time to sign the cremation authorization, and in some cases, a coroner must also authorize it.

2. Can it be both a funeral and a cremation?

Yes, the family can decide to hold a funeral after the cremation or vice versa. Cremation after the funeral means that you can have the body at the service.

But if you have the cremation first, you have to wait until the funeral home returns the ashes – which typically takes a couple of weeks. Then, you have complete authority to arrange the burial funeral anytime you want.

It also gives you more options to schedule funeral or memorial services and arranges out-of-town visits and other matters.

3. Can we plan a funeral on Sunday?

Why not! The family can decide to hold the funeral service on Sunday. Many funeral homes are more than willing to accommodate a Sunday funeral – however, a few funeral homes might say otherwise.

So, be sure to confirm it with your funeral home before planning further. Also double-check with the officiant to ensure his or her availability to speak at the service on Sunday.

4. What time are funerals usually held?

Anytime the family wants. But in general, late morning to early afternoon is the most common time frame for funerals. This time bracket allows guests to stay for a luncheon or reception before heading back home.

In contrast, wakes, viewings, and visitations usually occur in the evening, the night before the funeral.

5. How long after death is a wake?

A wake, also known as a viewing or visitation, happens within a week of death. Traditionally, it occurs the day before the funeral with friends and family members gathered to say one last tribute to the deceased.

The deceased’s body is present during an open-casket visitation. Compared to a funeral, this is a less formal event. The guests are also served some food or beverages.

6. Possible Reasons to Delay a Funeral

Some of the common reasons that might delay a funeral for an unspecified amount of time include:

The death occurred during the middle of winter and there has been a bad ice storm. Or the city has experienced a power outage, including at the funeral home.
There are some criminal investigations surrounding the death and the coroner has not yet released the body.
The close kins are outside the country for any reason. They need time to get back home so that they can attend the funeral.
The deceased has passed away in a different country.
The family needs funds collection to pay for a funeral.

Speak to the experts at funeral homes Mentor, OH, if you have additional questions.

Questions About Eulogies

Eulogies are common at funeral homes Willoughby Hills, OH. A eulogy is a remembrance speech with the purpose of paying tribute to a loved one. We have shortlisted some common questions about a eulogy that will help you better understand this important component of a funeral service.

Let’s find out.

1. Who should deliver the eulogy?

Preferably, someone close to the departed soul delivers the eulogy. This can be a spouse, parent, child, sibling, close cousin or another relative, a pastor, or a good friend.

Often eulogies are given by family members or friends. But, that’s not set in stone. Anyone can deliver a eulogy. Often, the bereaved family nominates someone to give the eulogy. And that’s understandable as the pain is very raw for close family members and they may have difficulty composing or delivering a eulogy.

Anyone tasked with giving a eulogy should feel honored. It is a sign of your close relationship with the deceased and the high regard in which you are held by the family.

2. Can there be more than one eulogy?

Yes. Often there are two eulogies given, one by a family member and another by a friend. This gives two different perspectives on the deceased’s life and can greatly enhance the funeral service.

But mostly, families choose just one eulogy. In case of more than one eulogy, the speakers need to be brief and take around three to four minutes maximum.

3. How long should a eulogy be?

If the family decides to deliver one eulogy, the ideal time would be about six to eight minutes, but no more than ten. In terms of word count, the written eulogy should be about 1000 words. make sure you read it at a good clip otherwise you are in danger of going over 10 minutes.

If there are two or more eulogies, try to keep each one at five minutes or less. Or choose one to be the longer “main” eulogy at 5-7 minutes and the others no more than three minutes.

4. Is it ok to share a funny story in the eulogy?

Absolutely yes. A eulogy aims to highlight the notable traits of the deceased’s personality and honor their life. That’s why humor is entirely appropriate particularly if the loved one was a fun and jolly person. You can include a couple of funny incidents or stories involving the departed soul.

Funerals are mostly serious, so a few appropriately humorous stories and anecdotes can help tremendously to lighten the mood.

But stay away from awkward or embarrassing moments, off-color jokes, and foul language. There will be a wide variety of people in attendance and you do not want to needlessly offend.

5. Can I Cry during a eulogy?

It’s perfectly fine to cry during the eulogy. No one will think the worse of you for it, and if you realize it’s acceptable to get emotional then you’re actually less likely to do so. But try to control your emotions to make sure you deliver the message.

If your emotions are too high and you fear breaking down on the stage, be sure not to accept the invitation to funeral homes Willoughby Hills, OH, in the first place.

Common Question Regarding Funeral Costs

When you arrange a service at funeral homes Waite Hill, OH, understanding the various costs is far from the easiest task.

Knowing the answer to the most common questions we’ve heard about the costs of funerals and related services can help you better prepare for the event if need be. Let’s give you some answers:

1. Who pays for funeral expenses?

There’s no hard and fast rule. But generally, funeral expenses are paid by the next of kin who is often responsible for handling all the services of a funeral event to give a perfect goodbye to the lost loved one.

But nobody is legally responsible for funeral expenses unless they have signed the statement of funeral goods and services, agreeing to take responsibility.

2. What is included in most funeral packages?

The package can range from the funeral home to the funeral home. Also, every funeral home offers multiple packages to give the bereaved family more flexibility in choosing what serves them best.

But mostly, you get the below services from a funeral package:

Basic services of funeral director and staff.
Transporting remains from the place of death to the funeral home.
Care and shelter of the remains.
Filing the death certificate.

3. Can you pay for the funeral from the deceased’s bank account?

Yes, if the deceased has set up a rights-of-survivorship account. In such a case, all of the money inside the account becomes the property of the surviving account owner when one dies. The survivor can write a check or use a debit card to pay for the funeral expenses.

If it is not a joint account, the bank will not generally release any money from the account until probate is granted.

4. What to do if you cannot bear the funeral expense?

You can either ask for donation or crowdfunding or else, sign a release form with your county coroner’s office. This form shows that the family doesn’t have the resources to bury the lost loved one. After signing the release, the county will step in to pay for either direct burial or direct cremation.

5. How to ask for donations to help pay for the funeral?

The most common way is to set up a form of crowdfunding. Just as the name indicates, it is raising money to pay for a loved one’s final expenses. Or in other words, asking the public to pay for the deceased’s funeral expenses.

Typically, the crowdfunding web page is shared among friends and family members on social media, and it is often those closest to you who contribute. However, you may be surprised at the generosity of nearly-forgotten friends, distant relations, or strangers.

It is also a viable option to ask for funeral donations through social media. This way, family and friends can contact them and offer their help. Or you can make some phone calls respectfully asking for donations.

But for many people, asking for donations can be intimidating. Often, the best way is to ask for donations “Instead of flowers.” You can find more help at funeral homes Waite Hill, OH.

Positive Ways to Accept Death

Are you arranging a loved one’s service at funeral homes Mentor, OH? Agree or not, we all come across a time when you have to face the inevitable – the loss of a loved one. Someone close to your heart, like a part of your body. Whether the person is your spouse, parent, or close friend, the event hit pretty hard and what comes naturally is the grief journey.

For most people, grief is a complicated process. It comes in stages. There may be a denial, there may be anger, and these feelings may come separately or all at once. But sooner or later, it will lead to acceptance.

If you’re coping with the loss of a loved one, here are some proven tips to better navigate through the grief journey.

1. Don’t Rush, Take Your Time to Mourn

No two person grieves in the same way. Just because someone you know has gotten over the death of the loved one quickly implies you have to replicate it. Grief has a variety of variables including age, duration of the relationship, and the type of death – like tragic or sudden – that play into how one processes death.

It’s ok if you take a while to accept that the beloved soul has gone forever. This doesn’t make you appear vulnerable or weak. Not putting a time limit is always helpful when you find yourself dealing with a loss.

2. Remember the Positive Memories

Take comfort in knowing that the loved one has impacted your life and made you what you’re today. They taught you to face the harsh realities of the world positively and never let go of yourself.

Be grateful for their influence and know that you have the opportunity to pass their legacy to future generations. Knowing that you can’t bring the loved one back, but they’ll never truly leave you is comforting.

3. Give Them a Memorable Funeral

Arrange a funeral worthy of their personality and upright character. It should honor their memory in the best possible way. Arrange small events to make the guests know how good of a person the loved one was. Get unique funeral ideas from your funeral director.

Not only do they deserve a perfect farewell, but it also helps you seek solace and comfort to do whatever in your capacity to commemorate the memory of the departed soul.

4. Continue to Speak About Them

Don’t shy from talking about the loved one, and how much you miss them. And tell your good memories of that person to your close family and friends. Just because you can’t see your loved ones after they’ve died, doesn’t mean you can’t speak of them at a family gathering.

6. Know When to Get Help

Lastly and most importantly, know the signs that you need help. Coping with loss can be challenging, particularly if you had a deep bonding with your loved one. For those with a history of depression, the grieving process may be more challenging.

If you need help, reach out to friends, family, or professionals who can provide you with options. There’s no shame in getting the assistance you need. Understand the needs of your body and make a decision sooner than later about funeral homes Mentor, OH.

Planning a Committal Service

Whether you’re arranging or attending a committal after the service at funeral homes Willoughby Hills, OH, you’ll want to know what it is, what to say, and what to expect. To help you out, we have outlined a detailed guideline on everything you should know about a committal service.

What Is a Committal Service?

A committal service is simply a graveside service. This is a brief memorial service at the time you commit the body to the ground. Consider it as the final goodbye for the family and should be treated with dignity and respect. Mostly, this service is no longer than 15 to 20 minutes.

Many families choose to have a committal immediately following a funeral service. You can also choose to have a committal with no separate funeral or memorial at all. These details are up to the bereaved family.

Remember that a committal service for cremated remains would be planned the same as for a full casket with slight changes. The urn will be set on a table or an urn bier. Flower arrangements or the deceased’s pictures are made to place around the urn.

How to Plan a Committal

Before making all the decisions, be sure to discuss the service with your funeral director. He is the person you have to hire because he knows the best. Get his or her recommendations to ensure everything goes as planned.

1. Choose a cemetery or burial site

First of all, choose a burial site for the lost loved one. Usually, you will need to decide on a cemetery and buy a plot. You could check with cemetery offices to see if someone is trying to sell a plot. You should be able to purchase it for less from an individual.

2. Talk to the cemetery sexton

The sexton or caretaker runs the cemetery and knows its daily operations. He or she is responsible for managing all the arrangements of the gravesite.

From having the grave dug to filling it, they will make sure the casket gets to the grave and set on the lowering device. Also, the ground around the site needs to be set up for mourners. If needed, ask to set up the tents and chairs for the guests.

If you would like any décor, such as flowers or a photo memorial. You will need to pay the cemetery for these services.

3. Find an officiant & plan the service

The next step is to choose a pastor/minister/priest to lead the service. You will need to talk with the officiant, so he/she knows what Scriptures you want to have read. The officiant will also want some information so that he can write a short eulogy.

Want to customize the event and make it more meaningful? Have singing or specific reading at the committal service. This is where you can take suggestions from the officiant. Note that, if there isn’t a church affiliation, you can ask a family member to lead the service after funeral homes Willoughby Hills, OH.

Writing a Thoughtful Eulogy

If you have ever been to funeral homes Waite Hill, OH, you’d already know what a eulogy is. It is a speech that celebrates the life of a departed loved one. Giving tribute to the deceased has been a longstanding tradition in the funeral service – and often the central event.

Giving a eulogy is an honor and if you are chosen to pay tribute to the lost loved one, then it needs to be done well. Just follow the below tips to make sure the eulogy is moving, appropriate, and thoughtful.

1. Be Authentic

Try to be as close to the truth as possible. Don’t make it sound like the deceased was the most perfect person ever lived. A good eulogy can admit the person’s faults but will typically emphasize their strengths. Focus on the loved one’s major accomplishments, hobbies, passions, religion, volunteer work, and a brief intro of their spouse and children (if any), hobbies, passions, religion, and volunteer work.

2. Keep It Brief Yet Informative

A long eulogy makes the audience bored. Make sure your eulogy is brief, and poignant, and summarize the individual’s life without going into every detail. It should be approximately 1000 words and take around 6-8 minutes to deliver.

3. Think of a Theme

A professional eulogy revolves around a central theme. It can be anything like a central story, phrase, or quote as a motif. Or maybe you want to highlight a story or phrase that captures several aspects of their life and personality.

4. Think of Their Best Stories but Don’t Go Into Details

The bulk of the eulogy should be centered around narrating the major attributes and important stories of the loved one’s life. You may start with a favorite memory of the story of the deceased you were part of and connect it to one of the person’s defining characteristics.

Alternatively, you can choose to highlight the defining traits of their personality and link them with quotes or memories of the beloved soul. This part can give you at least half of your material.

But be sure to avoid unnecessary details. Keep it to 1-2 short stories. While the eulogy should focus on their personality and how they affected the lives of others but don’t forget to summarize the person’s family, accomplishments, and legacy. However, it doesn’t sound like the entire eulogy is about a list of people, places, and events.

5. Closing the Eulogy

It is good to close with a story, quote, or illustration. Your closing remarks can be between ten seconds to a minute. Add a couple of brief sentences to wrap things up. Consider saying “goodbye” to your loved ones and also say “Thank you” to all the guests for attending the event.

6. Write It Down

Yes, you can be a great speaker and we don’t doubt your memorizing and oration skills. But try to write everything you want to say. If you’re an experienced public speaker, notes or a bare outline can do the purpose. For someone not-so-experienced, write out each word you want to say. You can find more help at funeral homes Waite Hill, OH. Contact us today.

Plan the Perfect Funeral

Arranging a funeral service at funeral homes Mentor, OH, for the lost loved one is not a simple task – especially if you’re doing it for the first time. It involves making dozens of decisions within a short timeframe. You may have to do everything from picking the casket to inviting the guests.

If you’re tasked with managing the last services of the departed soul, here is what you should do:

How to Plan a Funeral

1. Learn About Funeral

First, acquaint yourself with different events involved in a funeral service. This will ease stress and help you reduce costs, and give a perfect tribute to the lost loved one.

Don’t wait till the last day to start arranging for the service. Start planning soon after you’re tasked with arranging the funeral.

2. Set Your Budget

Funerals can cost a lot if you make unscrupulous decisions which are highly likely at a time when you’re experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions.

But there are many cost-friendly ways to honor your loved ones the way they deserve. Much will come down to the choices you make. Here’s how to set your funeral budget:

Research average funeral costs in your locality. Note that cremation often costs less than burial.
Take a look at your finances and insurance, then determine what you can afford
Ask a friend who has already arranged a service before or a professional funeral director to help you stay on task and avoid unnecessary purchases

3. Choose Disposition Method

For most families, this comes down to burial vs cremation. While you have plenty of final disposition ideas but the two most popular choices are cremation and burial.

Make your decision based on the deceased’s final wish, the family’s religious or cultural preferences, and your budget. At the same time, consider whether or not to embalm. This comes true even if you’re going with burial as you have sorts of alternative burial and preservation methods – less expensive than embalming.

4. Decide About the Funeral Services

A complete funeral service includes many events, both before the service and after. That includes wake, viewing, visitation (before events) and reception, cremation, scattering, and committal, also called after events.

5. Plan the Additional Service Events

Next, you need to take care of additional services that make up the whole event like choosing an officiant, deciding on readings, Scriptures, prayers, and songs, as well as who should give the eulogy.

Also, decide if you want an open casket or a closed one, any special music or open mic sharing time, or any other special memorial tributes.

6. Choose a Final Resting Place

While the traditional resting place for burial is at a cemetery, you get tons of options if the loved one is cremated. You may scatter all or part of the ashes in the ocean, river, or from a cliff. Or you can choose to keep the cremation urn at home. Similarly, you can bury the urn, or place it into a columbarium niche at funeral homes Mentor, OH.

All About Anticipatory Grief

Saying goodbye to your loved one at funeral homes Willoughby Hills, OH, isn’t easy. The process is also difficult if they’ve been ill for a long time.

In layman’s terms, anticipatory grief is grieving a loss before it happens. The painful feelings of knowing that the loved one is about to die after battling cancer or other terminal diseases.

With the final stages of the loved one’s life fast approaching, your role as caretaker feels more urgent and serious as you cope with overwhelming anticipatory grief.

What is Anticipatory Grief?

Anticipatory grief is when you experience deep sorrow over losing a loved one before they have died. Consider it as if you know the person you love is near to death but you cannot do anything to save them. It triggers a painful reaction and you start grieving the loss before it happens. This is called anticipatory grief.

What is the difference between normal grief and anticipatory grief?

The major difference between “normal” grief and anticipatory grief is timing. Anticipatory grief happens before the loss occurs while typical grief is after the loss. But note that anticipatory grief can be as hard as normal grief, and in some cases, even harder.

Looking at your loved one and not being able to do anything can make you feel vulnerable, guilty, and angry.

Why anticipatory grief is so difficult?

The anticipatory grief starts soon after your loved one received a diagnosis from the doctor. Depending on the situation, this period between onset and death can be from a couple of weeks to a few months, and even more.

In essence, you are grieving in two different ways for the same person. Not only are you grieving the anticipated loss, but you are also grieving over their current suffering and loss of potential. Even worse is the difficulty of talking about it, which can make you feel even more alone and helpless in your grief.

What are the symptoms of anticipatory grief?

It’s true that every person grieves differently and may experience varying symptoms. But here are the common physical and mental effects of anticipatory grief.

Emotions like anger, denial, depression, hopelessness, and forgetfulness are also common in normal grief.
Exhaustion, especially if you are a caregiver. Taking care of a loved one and watching their health decline is both physically and emotionally exhausting.
Getting excessively anxiety-filled as you try to be on alert all the time in a hospital or hospice care. Every time the phone rings, you could feel the heartbeat getting faster, predicting that the worst has happened. You are always bracing for the bad news.
Feelings of guilt and self-blame. Maybe you’re wondering if only you could have done more, things wouldn’t be the way they are. Looking forward for their suffering and your weariness to be over can cause you to feel shame.

No matter how hard the grief is, you should never give up or lose hope. Grief is a healthy emotional process of accepting the inevitable outcome. The final step is the memorial service at funeral homes Willoughby Hills, OH. Contact us today.

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