Value of Funeral​

A funeral is an important part of grieving, & often the first step in the healing process. For thousands of years, funerals have been the preferred means of expressing grief & paying tribute to loved ones. When dealing w/ loss & grief, there is no single solution that meets the needs of every individual. The type of service chosen is largely based on the personal preferences of both the survivors & the deceased. The important thing is that you acknowledge the passing of a loved one in a way that is meaningful & helpful in your healing, & that you realize you are not alone. Your local funeral home & licensed funeral director are trained to help you through this difficult time

Value of Funeral​ - What Makes a Funeral Meaningful

Funerals are most meaningful when they’re personalized. As you’re planning, think about the qualities that made the person special & what he or she meant to others. Consider passions, hobbies, pastimes, likes, dislikes. Work together w/ your family, friends, funeral director & the person who’ll lead the service to find ways to capture this unique life in the visitation, funeral, memorial service or graveside committal.

Elements of a Meaningful Funeral Meaningful funerals are made up of different parts that, when combined, create an incredibly meaningful experience for you, your family & friends. Even among different faiths & cultures, funeral ceremonies throughout North America often include many of the same elements. Your faith or culture may have its own variations & you should follow them as you see fit.	$0.00
Music One of the purposes of music is to help us access our feelings, both happy & sad.	$0.00
Readings Readings are a way to convey the unique life & philosophies of the person who died.	$0.00
Visitation/Reception Receiving friends through a visitation activates your support system & allows others to express their love & concern for you.	$0.00
Eulogy/Remembrance Often the eulogy is the most remembered & meaningful element of a funeral ceremony.	$0.00
Symbols When words are inadequate, the presence of symbols like flowers, food & candles help us express our thoughts & feelings.	$0.00
Procession The​ procession is a symbol of mutual support & public honoring of the death.	$0.00
Committal Service or Scattering Accompanying a body to its final resting place & saying a few last words brings a necessary feeling of finality to the funeral process.	$0.00
Gathering This informal time allows family & friends to share memories, to laugh, cry & show support for one another.	$0.00
Memories Through memories, those who have died continue to live on in us	$0.00

Services of Funeral Directors​

The funeral director’s most important role is helping you. Making any kind of funeral arrangements involves many choices & decisions. Funeral service professionals give you & your family the information you need to make the right choices. Because they understand your need to consider all available options, your funeral director will fully explain these options & take time to answer your questions. Licensed & trained funeral directors help w/ both the practical arrangements & the emotional issues involved in planning a funeral. On the practical side, they typically remove the deceased from the place of death, obtain the required legal documents & prepare the body for viewing, if desired. Once you & your family are satisfied w/ your decisions regarding services, burial or cremation, your funeral director will arrange for the final disposition, provide facilities for the visitation & funeral service & transport the deceased & mourners to the final resting place.

Understanding Grief​

Grief is not an illness, but rather a natural & necessary journey that follows the death of someone we love. As such, it deserves our attention & respect, as well as the support of others, if we are to heal. The following brochures offer compassionate, practical suggestions for coping w/ serious or terminal illness: You are beginning a journey that is often frightening, painful, overwhelming & sometimes lonely. The following brochures provide many other practical suggestions to help you move toward healing in your unique grief journey. The following brochures provide many practical suggestions for helping others w/ grief:

Coping With Serious Illness Learning that you or someone you love is seriously or terminally ill is a blow to everyone the news touches. If the onset of the illness was sudden or unexpected, you & the rest of your family will likely feel shock & numbness. This is a natural & necessary response to painful news	$0.00
Helping Yourself Live When You Are Seriously Ill	$0.00
Helping Yourself Live When You Are Dying	$0.00
Helping a Friend Who is Seriously Ill	$0.00
Helping a Friend Who is Dying	$0.00
Helping Your Family When a Member is Seriously Ill	$0.00
Helping Your Family When a Member is Dying	$0.00
Helping a Child Who Has a Serious Illness	$0.00
Helping a Child Who is Dying	$0.00
Helping Yourself Someone you love has died. You are now faced w/ the difficult, but important, need to mourn. Mourning is the open expression of your thoughts & feelings regarding the death of the person who died. It is an essential part of healing.	$0.00
Helping Yourself Heal When Someone Dies	$0.00
Helping Yourself Heal When a Baby Dies	$0.00
Helping Yourself Heal When Your Child Dies	$0.00
Helping Yourself Heal When Your Spouse Dies	$0.00
Helping Yourself Heal When a Parent Dies	$0.00
Helping Yourself Heal During the Holiday Season	$0.00
Helping Your Family Cope When a Pet Dies'	$0.00
Helping Others A friend has experienced the death of someone loved. How can you help? To begin with, you can be an active listener. Your physical presence & desire to listen without judging are your critical helping tools. Don’t worry so much about what you will say. Just concentrate on listening to the words being shared w/ you. You should strive to be compassionate. Give your friend permission to express his or her feelings without fear of criticism. Allow him or her to experience all the hurt, sorrow & pain that he or she is feeling at the time. Enter into your friend’s feelings, but never try to take them away.	$0.00
Helping a Friend in Grief	$0.00
Helping AIDS Survivors Heal	$0.00
Helping a Homicide Survivor Heal	$0.00
Helping SIDS Survivors Heal	$0.00
Helping a Suicide Survivor Heal	$0.00
Helping Children Cope w/ Grief	$0.00
Helping Teenagers Cope w/ Grief	$0.00
Helping Infants & Toddlers When Someone They Love Dies	$0.00
Helping Children w/ Funerals	$0.00
Helping Bereaved Siblings Heal	$0.00
Helping Grieving Children at School	$0.00

Living Memorial​

ometimes the extra touches make all the difference in the world. Consider Batesville’s Living Memorial® tree planting program…a simple concept that has grown from its inception in 1976 to become a major contributor to reforestation w/ more than 13 million trees planted as a lasting memorial to loved ones. With most Batesville caskets, urns or cremation containers purchased, our special agreements w/ various agencies arrange for a tree seedling to be planted in selected woodlands throughout the world. More than just a fitting tribute, this program provides for trees that shelter our wildlife, reduce water & wind erosion, & contribute to the purity of the air we breathe. It’s a way to honor your loved one w/ a lasting memorial while helping the environment.