Winter Burials at the Cemetery

When a death occurs in the winter it is a perfectly natural question for a family to ask if it will affect the ground burial of their loved one.   The answer depends on the location of the cemetery.  Most cemeteries in the country today have the technology to dig a grave in all kinds of conditions.  Those in the northern climates may experience difficulty in getting through the frozen ground.  I work near the 40th Continue reading

How Do You Pick a Cemetery?

“How do you pick a cemetery?”  The question is a good one.  It is important to make the right choice since you will end up being there forever.  There are personal and logistical elements to be considered when making the choice.  If something is not considered, then your choice could turn from good to bad. My advice is for you to meditate on what you would like your final place of rest to look like.  Continue reading

Who Would Take the Flowers Off a Grave?

In my opinion, one of the most frequent complaints at a cemetery is that flowers or decoration have been moved from a loved one’s grave.  Though it takes place more frequently in the warmer weather months, the complaint is registered even in winter. Nothing can be more upsetting than decorating a loved one’s grave one day, and on the next visit discover that something, if not everything is missing.  Grief is hard enough to experience Continue reading

The Funds Are Due At Time of Need

Time after time families are surprised when there is a death when they find that charges are due before the burial can take place.  Along with the grief and the stress of all the tasks to be accomplished in a very short period, there is the added stress of payment.  In my experience, the financial burden can be the most difficult to carry throughout this process. In one case I was working, the family was Continue reading

What is it Like to Work with Families?

Most people consider my occupation to be macabre; some even it think it gross.  They believe that I work with dead bodies and cannot fathom how I can possibly stand it.  Their feelings about my occupation are merely a reflection of their personal feelings.  They truly misunderstand what it is that I do. My job, though it entails planning for someone that is deceased, is not actually working with them, but actually with those who Continue reading

What is a Casket?

Choosing a casket is one of the major tasks of the funeral planning experience.  There are many choices not only of the outside but also of the inside.  Funeral directors offer these choices to make the casket more personal to the deceased.  Some families make a choice based on presentation:  they may feel that they must choose an expensive casket so as to “keep up appearances.”  Is that necessary? I have been asked is a Continue reading

The Insurance Assignment

When the death of a loved one occurs, some families are very surprised at the expense incurred for final disposition.  One element of the process that is particularly surprising is that the expenses need to be covered before burial can occur.  The monies, in case you didn’t know, need to be paid before the service can begin. As has been discussed in a previous post, one method of payment that families employ when there is Continue reading

Frequently Asked Questions

There are many questions associated with funeral and burial that I am asked on a daily basis.  As food for thought I will answer ten of them here. 1. Is payment in full required for burial to occur? Yes.  One of the major reasons to make and pay for arrangements in advance is to prevent financial hardship at the time of death. 2. What are my choices in ground burial? There are single graves and Continue reading