There seems to be an evolving trend in funeral service these days which includes a very simplified service. More and more people are choosing cremation and following that there may be a memorial service or there may not be one. Sometimes there is a very personal gathering of family at the graveside to say goodbye and sometimes there is a boat chartered out into the waves of Lake Erie. When I hear people talking about these kinds of services, I hear different comments…some people like it, some don’t; some people say “he must not have had a lot of money” and some people say “there were other things that were more important to him”. I say it’s a personal choice. I always said that I wanted to be cremated and have my ashes spread in my mother’s garden…if I got stuck on her boots, then I would go for a walk with her.
Any kind of service can be meaningful. There are so many ways that you can make that time what you need it to be. I always say to follow your heart and then you will know that you did what was right. You only have one chance and you won’t regret the things that you did do, only the things that you didn’t do. Some of you are afraid to ask, and I wish you wouldn’t be, because you would find that I am one of the most open minded people that you will come to know in your life. I will discuss any funeral service options with you.
It’s also okay to shop around. You do that with all other purchases that you make; why not do some research on funerals too…make a list of the services that you want and ask different Funeral Homes what those charges would be. In the end just make sure that each Funeral Home has included all of the charges and that there won’t be any additional expenses after the fact. Although Funeral Homes can’t take some monies for services or supplies beforehand in terms of pre-arranging, they can still give you an idea of what everything would cost.
