Funeral Services ·
What Should I Say? ·
Offering Thanks
Funerals are an emotional time for all involved. A death effects many people, including family, friends, co-workers, and associates. The presence of flowers during a funeral service is an appropriate and thoughtful way to remind everyone that it should be a celebration of life. We have created a Funeral Section on our floral web page which displays a collection of beautiful arrangements that would be suitable to send to a funeral home.
The Funeral Service
Funeral Directors help the family decide which type of service would be most appropriate by assessing their needs and situation. The service is generally held at a place of worship or at the funeral home.
Private Service Usually,
relatives and close friends attend the service which is by invitation only. This
type of service can be held at a family member's home, the funeral home or at a
place of worship. There can also be a public viewing afterwards.
Mermorial Service This is a
service without the body being present or, if the deceased has been cremated.
Some families have public visitation followed by a private service.
Visitation
An individual's presence shows the family that there are friends surrounding them. Your presence shows that you genuinely care for them and are there to support them. Attending the visitation lets the family know that while they are suffering a great loss, they are still connected to the living and that life does go on.
The visitation is a time for friends to offer their condolences, rather than awkwardly bringing up the subject over the phone, at work, etc.
It is also customary, when attending the visitation, to sign the register book if one is provided. A full name should be given.
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At times, when going through the receiving line of immediate family members of the deceased, it can make a person feel uncomfortable. You may not know what to say, or may fear saying the wrong thing. This is quite common. Some suggestions as to what may be appropriate to say to a grieving family member would be:
- "My sympathy to you."
- "It was a pleasure knowing (name of deceased)."
- "My condolences to you and your family."
- "(name of deceased) was an amazing person"
- "He/She will be deeply missed."
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Close family members of the deceased should offer thanks for the acts of kindness given by others. You can either send out thank you notes, publish an insert in the newspaper, or send an appropriate floral arrangement.
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