Understanding The Role Of A Funeral Director

About Me
Sharing The Burden: Ideas For Funeral Arrangements

Hello, everybody. My name is Lois, and I am in my seventies. It might be hard to believe, but I attended my first funeral when I was sixty-five years old. Since then, I have suffered the loss of quite a few family members and close friends. In fact, I have now organised over a dozen funerals. As someone who had been so blessed, it really came as a shock when I first experienced the trauma of making funeral arrangements whilst still finding time to grieve. It really taught me the importance of having an empathetic and creative funeral director that can help share the burden and honour your loved one appropriately. Hopefully, this blog will help those who, like me, had no idea about the enormity of the task a funeral organiser faces. I trust that the ideas within will prove comforting and inspiring during this difficult time. Thank you.

Understanding The Role Of A Funeral Director

15 August 2019
 Categories: , Blog

When you lose a loved one, the thought of making funeral arrangements can seem overwhelming, so it may be of benefit to understand the role of a funeral director. A funeral director's role is multifaceted, and in addition to arranging the practical aspects of a funeral, they are also there to support family members as they walk through the process of saying goodbye to the deceased. Here's an overview of a funeral director's role before, during and after the funeral service:

Before A Funeral Service

Your funeral director will arrange for the transportation of your loved one at each stage in the pre-burial proceedings. For example, you may want to hold a pre-burial viewing at home or need to move the deceased from a hospice to the funeral home. The practicalities of this will be taken care of for you. The funeral director will also place death notices in print and online media, as required, and they will walk you through the process of registering the death. They will be your main point of contact during the arrangements, and they will organise the date and time of the funeral with the cemetery and organise transport to the service for family members and other mourners at your request.

During A Funeral Service

During the funeral service, you should not have to worry about anything other than saying goodbye to the deceased. The funeral director will ensure the service is conducted in a way that reflects the wishes of both you and the deceased. This may include checking the correct music will be played, greeting mourners and ensuring order of service sheets are handed out on arrival. Essentially, during the service, they will make sure everyone knows what to expect next and where to go after the service, such as a churchyard or crematorium.

After A Funeral Service

After the service, your funeral director will still be on-hand to answer any questions you have or help you organise a memorial stone or casket if your loved one was cremated. If you have a special place in mind for scattering their ashes, the funeral director can help you arrange for this to take place by checking what permissions are required for the site you have in mind. Should you need ashes to be transported elsewhere in the country, they can assist with the transportation arrangements.

In addition to organising funeral services for the deceased, funeral directors can also assist people to make arrangements for their own funeral while they are still living. They can talk you through the range of pre-paid funeral plans that are available and record your wishes for your funeral service.

Hopefully, understanding the role of a funeral director will help take some of the stress out of organising a funeral. If at any point in the process you are unsure about any of the arrangements, your funeral director will be happy to sit down with you and discuss each step in as much detail as you'd like.