Comments on: What Your Families REALLY Think About Funerals (& What You Can Do About It)

By: Graham Burton

Graham Burton — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 18:51:46 +0000

It’s a celebtration of a loved one that you have been asked to look and care for during their time of loss,and you have to take on board what the family request ,and help them from day one .Ask yourself how would you take care of your own loved one and maybe you have all the answers .Funeral services they may be but it’s a celebration of ones life that family’s will remember and not to be forgotten if things are carried out correctly .

By: Gaynor

Gaynor — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 07:30:35 +0000

Totally agree with all the above, that is why I’ve started my Business above to help individuals the opportunity to explore alternative ideas to the departure of their life.

By: Tyler Newton

Tyler Newton — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 15:42:05 +0000

Awesome comment Brad! I completely agree, although my input may be dismal seeing as I have only been in the industry one full year. I have attended funerals my entire life being a member of a large family and church, many funerals have taken place.
At our funeral home we have seen quite a number of families uninterested in a “traditional” funeral until they attended one of our services. We have a portrait of the family’s loved one made to look like a painting and present it to the family before each service, removing the focus from only the passing of their loved one. Instead now we honor them and celebrate their life. Funerals do not have to be held to these statistics, but we must be able to raise the bar of excellence in lue of opposition.

By: Delawrence Blue

Delawrence Blue — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 08:04:16 +0000

Love u

By: Rilee Chastain

Rilee Chastain — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 16:57:43 +0000

In reply to Brad Apsey. Brad, thanks for sharing your story! & Thank you for the amazing things that you do for your families.

By: Brad Apsey

Brad Apsey — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 14:47:46 +0000

I have owned my funeral home since 1979 and the 1st battle I had was with the local clergy, trying to get them to talk more about the deceased and less about religion. Back then I was trying to tailor the funeral service to be more about the person. The reason for this was the number 1 complaint I was getting from my families was that the minister or priest barely mentioned the deceased by name. Some ministers rapped up the service in 10-15 minutes, the people barely sat down and it was over.

When I would bring up the fact that not enough is being said about the deceased, the ministers response was that I didn’t know the person or the family didn’t tell me anything about him/her. Well, maybe it was because you didn’t show up until 5 minutes before the funeral. I always welcomed the clergy to attend the arrangement conference, so they could ask questions. I would even excuse myself so the family could talk to the minister one on one, and at the end of the conference everybody was on the same page.

Today, we make the memorial DVD for our families, along with posting it on our Funeralone web sight. We also use the Beryl-Martin memorial products, again using pictures and themes that mean something to the family. Families spend more time putting these items together than they ever did picking out a casket and burial vault. Why, because this is what everybody walks out the door with at the end of the service.