It’s not uncommon for people to turn to funeral homes to help them with end-of-life arrangements when a beloved person passes away. Funeral homes have providers who will guide grieving families through the entire process from beginning to end.
With the help of a funeral director, families can easily plan memorial or funeral services while they navigate their deep emotions of grief. In this article, we’ll answer the most asked questions about funeral homes. Read on to know what they are and what they do.
Table of Contents
What Is a Funeral Home?
According to the experienced funeral home experts at Southern Cremations & Funerals, a funeral home is a business that offers care to deceased individuals. This care begins from the time of death until the time of burial.
In a funeral home, there are funeral directors who assist grieving families as they decide how to handle various aspects of the funeral process. In addition, the experienced experts at Southern Cremations & Funerals establish that the funeral home also acts as a location for body preparation, visitation and funeral services.
Why Do They Call It a Funeral Home?
The establishment goes by the name of a funeral home because it handles the preparation of a dead person’s body for final disposition. It also serves as a place to host funeral home services, such as visitation, viewing or a wake.
As stated above, funeral home directors in a funeral home will handle several details of caring for the deceased. However, this depends on the wishes of the family and the specific needs concerning the death of their loved one. Funeral home directors typically handle the details listed here:
- Transfer the deceased to the funeral home from the place of death.
- Offer 24-hour availability to respond to the grieving families after death occurs.
- Arrange the sanitary washing, embalming, cosmetology, dressing and hairdressing of the body.
- Assist grieving families with the funeral plans.
- Offer burial items like memorial chests, urns, vaults and caskets.
- Handle administrative issues, such as filing death claim benefits, publishing death obituaries and notices and filing death certificates.
- Coordinate plans with the cemetery, clergy or crematory.
- Offer funeral stationery, like memorial folders, acknowledgment cards, prayer cards, etc.
- Secure facilities for funeral services and visitations.
What Is the Difference Between a Funeral Home and a Mortuary?
Most people tend to interchange the meaning of a funeral home and mortuary. Even though the two have similarities, they differ. A mortuary refers to a place where the deceased body is taken and processed through cremation or embalmment. While some state that a funeral director should be involved, a mortuary may or may not involve a funeral director.
On the other hand, funeral homes offer more extensive services than a mortuary. A significant part of their offered services is the mortuary service of body processing. The additional services that a funeral home provides, and a mortuary does not offer, include a space for memorial or funeral services.
The experienced funeral directors at Southern Cremations & Funerals also point out that many funeral homes today have memorial parks where grieving families can bury the deceased. Thus, the primary difference between a mortuary and a funeral home is that a funeral home offers more extensive services.
In Conclusion
A funeral home is an establishment that provides care to grieving families and their deceased loved ones. It has funeral directors who are present to assist the families of the deceased from the time of death to the period of final disposition.
