Overheard at just about every funeral service is, “I know how your feel,” or its close cousin, “I know what you are going through.” Guess what? You do not. You do not even really know how you would feel if you just lost your child or parent, or anybody you cared about for that matter. And if you lost your child, or parent or anybody you care about, that experience is your own – and it is unique to only you. Flags were being burned and protests against the war in Vietnam were on the front pages of newspapers in big and small towns across America while some of the youth of the nation crossed into Canada to avoid the draft. This is not their story. This is my story (Daniel Moran – in photo). I am from a very small town in upstate New York. Patriotism was served up with mom’s apple pie and 4th of July was a day of celebration, fireworks and hot dogs gobbled up as if there was a ticket to heaven for whoever ate the most. People often wonder what exactly a funeral director does. Few people think about it until they need the services of a funeral director, and then are either too emotional or too shy to ask. So, let us answer the question here, away from sitting down at a time of need, and see if we can help you understand and appreciate just what a funeral director does. A funeral director takes what is called “the first call” from a hospital or home when a person has passed away, and gets permission for the release of the body to be taken to the funeral home. If circumstances are such that a need for embalming is established, the funeral director will get the proper legal permission to embalm. Simply stated, the quicker such permission is granted and the embalming is completed, the better the person will look for a viewing. Embalming is not required except in certain circumstances – call one of our funeral directors for more details. The job title is “Family Service Counselor”. It could be an ad written for just about any cemetery or funeral home in the country. These positions are filled with some of the most caring men and women in your community; and maybe even a friend or relative of yours works as a counselor. Almost all of them never knew that the job existed up until the time they answered the ad for the job. Very few young people ‘decide’ when they grow up that they want to become a family service counselor, or more succinctly put, a person who will ‘council a family on making cemetery and funeral arrangements’. At the time of need, funeral arrangements must be made with a licensed funeral director.
[slideshow][sideshow] For more information go to the Calumet Park Cemetery Website. CPC Immediate Need Presentation File is 11.09MB People die every day. There is nothing “newsy” about that. Illness, accidents, natural disasters, crime … depressing at the least, so it is better to think of happy thoughts. Fortunately, we humans are wired in such a way as to be able to separate ourselves from the pain others feel during their individual losses. If we were not made that way, we would not be able to function. In our world of instant news, it would be easy for one to be emotionally “buried” by all the death that surrounds us every single waking moment of our lives. In fact, as I write these words, bodies by the thousands are washing ashore in Japan after the tsunami that hit that small nation recently. A mom is killed on her way to work. A baby is stillborn. A grandpa takes his last breath surrounded by those who love him. If we sat and considered all the tragedy that fills the newspapers every day, no matter what part of the world we live in, we would find it hard to get out of bed each morning. What do you say when someone dies? What not to say!
I remember…
It was the late ’60s and the country was changing unlike any other time in history. Love them or not, everyone knew of the Beatles, flower power, drugs and parents not knowing what to do about their kids with their long hair and big ideas on what was wrong with the world. What does a funeral director do?
Would you want this job?
Wow, who is going to answer that ad? Calumet Park Funeral Home photos
Spring 2011 Newsletter – slow downloading but worth the wait.
After a death, what happens before committing your loved one to their final resting place? This post takes about 2 minutes to downoad but it is very helpful and is filled with photos.
I don’t want to be bothered…or maybe I do…hmmm…