How to Help Out During a Funeral
Many people want to help out during a funeral at funeral home in Tallahassee, but they’re unsure if it’s even appropriate or, if it is appropriate, what they can do to help take care of the bereaved family that is mourning the loss of a loved one.
Funerals are composed of many moving parts that may seem like they automatically happen, but they don’t in actuality. In the background are many people who are work hard so that things go smoothly. So, how can you help?
One way to help a grieving family during a funeral service is to take care of the guest book. Guest books are typically placed at the entrance of the location where the funeral service will be held.
Guest books give people who come to pay their respects to the deceased an opportunity to make sure the family knows they were there. The bereaved family receives the guest book after the funeral as part of the funeral home’s services to them.
Taking care of the guest book consists of directing mourners to the guest book to sign it during both the visitation and the funeral service (some people will attend both the visitation and funeral service and some will attend only the funeral service).
Most funeral homes have staff that will take care of moving the guest book if the visitation and funeral service are held in different places, but it can help the family to know that someone they know is taking care of the guest book.
Another way you can help during a funeral is to keep a written record of all gifts and flowers sent to the funeral service. The grieving family will send thank you notes after the funeral service to all those who participated in the funeral or who sent flowers and gifts. Having a list of those names of those people and what they contributed helps make the thank-you note writing easier.
Be sure to record first and last names, addresses, if they’re included, and the actual contribution made. You can take photos with a smartphone of both tags and the gifts so that the family will have visual reminders to help them when they begin sending thank-you notes.
A third way to be helpful during a funeral is to attend to any needs the family may have. You can make sure that they have water to drink during the visitation and, if there’s a reception after the funeral service, something to eat and drink. The family may not even be thinking about any of these things, but they will appreciate your show of concern for their well-being.
A nice gesture of help could be to buy cloth handkerchiefs for each family member to have during the visitation and the funeral. You can also provide a small bottle of hand sanitizer with each handkerchief, so family members can use it as needed while greeting mourners.
Most of the time, funeral home staff take care of parking for the funeral, but you can still offer your assistance with parking before the funeral and with traffic flow after the funeral, especially if there is a funeral procession to the cemetery after the funeral.
A final way to be helpful during a funeral service is to volunteer to help seat people. The funeral director will guide people into the room where the service is being held, but an extra hand to help people find seats will be appreciated.
For more information on how to help during a funeral at a funeral home in Tallahassee, our caring and knowledgeable staff at Lifesong Funerals & Cremations is here to assist you.
