What is the purpose a funeral serves?

The funeral ceremony is a customary way to recognize death and its finality.   Funerals are recognized rituals for the living to show respect for the dead and to help survivors begin the grief process.

What do Funeral Directors do?

Funeral Directors are listeners, advisors and supporters, caregivers and administrators.   They make the arrangements for transportation of the body, complete all necessary paperwork, and implement the choices made by the family regarding the funeral and final disposition of the body.   They have experience assisting the bereaved in coping with death.   Funeral Directors are trained to answer questions about grief, recognize when a person is having difficulty coping, and recommend sources of professional help   Funeral directors also link survivors with support groups at the funeral home or in the community.

Do you have to have a funeral director to bury the dead?   

In most states, family members may bury their own dead although regulations vary.   However, most people find it very trying to be solely responsible for arranging the details and legal matters surrounding a death.

Why have a public viewing?

Viewing is part of many cultural and ethnic traditions.  Many grief specialists believe that viewing aids the grief process by helping the bereaved recognize the reality of death.  Viewing is encouraged for children, as long as the process is explained and the activity voluntary. 

What is the purpose of embalming?

Embalming sanitizes and preserves the body, retarding the decomposition process and enhances the appearance of a body disfigured by traumatic death or illness.   Embalming makes it possible to lengthen the time between death and the final disposition, thus allowing family members time to arrange and participate in the type of service most comforting to them.  

Does a dead body have to be embalmed, according to law?

No.  Most states, however, require embalming when death was caused by a reportable contagious disease or when remains are to be transported from one state to another by common carrier or if final disposition is not to be made within a prescribed number of hours.  

Is cremation a substitute for a funeral?

No, cremation is an alternative to earth burial or entombment for the body