Funeral Planning

Unless a funeral is prearranged by the deceased, planning a funeral for a loved one often comes at an emotionally charged time and sometimes as a complete surprise. Funeral homes and directors are equipped to help you plan a funeral that reflects your loved one’s life and personality. But where do you start when the need arises? A checklist can be helpful when organizing events and responsibilities during the funeral preparations.

Funeral Checklist

When planning a funeral, try not to do everything yourself. Call on family members or a friend to help you make the following arrangements…

Notify:

• Funeral home
• Clergy
• Relatives and Friends
• Pallbearers
• Insurance Agents
• Banks
• Unions and fraternal organizations

Select:

• Cemetery property
• Funeral service
• Casket
• Vault or outer container
• Clothing
• Flowers
• Music
• Thank-you cards
• Transportation
• Time and place for funeral
• Time and place for visitation

Provide vital statistics about the deceased:

• Birth date
• Birthplace
• Father’s name
• Mother’s name
• Social Security number
• Veterans’ discharge or claim number
• Education
• Marital status

Obituary Information:

Our funeral home staff will compose the obituary for you to approve before submitting it to the newspaper

• Age
• Place of birth
• Occupation
• Educational Background
• Memberships
• Military service
• Outstanding work
• List of survivors in immediate family
• Time and place of services
• Charities for memorial contribution

In addition, you will want to:

• Have addresses and phone numbers of all people who must be notified
• Make arrangements for out-of-town visitors
• Find someone to help answer sympathetic phone calls, cards and letters, and to greet friends and relatives when they call.
• Decide an appropriate memorial to which gifts may be made (church, hospice, or charity of choice)
• Prepare a list of distant persons to be notified by letter or printed notice and decide which to send
• Locate the will and notify the lawyer and executor
• Check carefully all life and casualty insurance and death benefits, including Social Security, credit union, fraternal and military
• Check promptly on all debts and installment payments, including credit cards. Some carry insurance clauses that cancel balances upon death.
• Notify utilities and landlord and tell post office where to send mail (if deceased was living alone)