Blog | Lifesong Funerals

1. Social Security Administration by calling 1-800-772-1213. Your funeral home will make the initial contact with SSA. When the death certificate is entered, the SSN has to pass. A surviving spouse or dependent child is entitled to a $255 death benefit.
2. Banks. Accounts may be held jointly but you still need to notify each institution and bring a certified death certificate.
3. The deceased’s employer
4. The Department of Motor Vehicles
5. Issuer’s of credit cards or charge accounts
6. Life Insurance Companies. You will need to request a claim form and provide a death certificate (with cause of death). Some funeral home’s may take an assignment on the policy and do this on your behalf.
7. Title holders to mortgages. Remember if jointly held you’re still responsible for payments.
8. Veteran’s Administration. Each honorably discharged veteran is entitled to a flag, headstone and free burial in a national cemetery. The Veteran’s spouse and dependent children are allowed to be interred in the national cemetery also. Please provide your funeral home with form DD-214. Burial benefits may apply is the deceased veteran was in receipt of a VA pension; died in a VA hospital; or was in receipt of compensation for a service connected disability.

An obituary by definition is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person’s life and information about the upcoming funeral. In the past, obituaries cost a family nothing as it was (and remains to be) the most read section in the newspaper. So if these notices of death are so relevant concerning local news, why do they cost so much? While I don’t have a good answer for you, I may have an alternative solution a lot of families are taking advantage of….Facebook!

Whether we admit it or not, Facebook is becoming part of our daily routine. Where people used to go strait to the local newspaper to accompany their morning coffee, we’re now holding smart phones and scrolling through Facebook. And before you say Facebook is only for young people, statistically, the largest active age group on Facebook is ages 35-54; making up 31% (56 million people) of users. Even at 55+, there are an astounding 28 million Facebooker’s! So yes, there’s a good chance Grandma’s on Facebook right now 🙂 And as we connect with people all over the country, our news is fed to us faster through social media—even obituaries!

So here’s the greatness of it….We’ve had a company Facebook page for sometime but just recently started sharing obituaries on our company page. We show the family how to find and share their loved one’s obituary through our website or Facebook page. Some families cannot spend hundreds of dollars to publish an obituary in the local newspaper. However, if your funeral home has a Facebook page, they can post it at no charge.

Worried it will not reach enough people??  For a few bucks, your funeral home can “boost” an obituary post and reach a few thousand people. You can even geo target who you want to view the post by location, age, etc. So next time you’re faced with a very large obituary charge, ask your funeral home about sharing it on social media.

Over the past few months we’ve had five families ask us if it’s okay to bring their pets to the funeral home. Their concern for their pet’s well being has recently touched our hearts. Our answer is always yes. Please make sure your pet companion is potty trained. But other than that we think it’s a great idea for pet and owner.

We’ve all heard of therapy dogs- If you haven’t, therapy dogs are certified dogs who go with their owners to volunteer in settings such as schools, hospitals, and nursing homes. They work with children learning to read or seniors needing a special visitor to improve their lives. So why not improve the lives of their grieving human companions when a death occurs?! And while the survivor is mostly concerned with the feelings of their beloved pet, we believe that pet and owner sharing in a loss together is both essential and therapeutic.

So if you experience the loss of a loved one and feel like you need your best bud to come along, please don’t hesitate to ask. We want our families and four legged companions to feel at home and have the best experience possible.

 

I remember it like it was yesterday. I had taken a nap in the middle of the day and woke up to discover two voicemails. One from my father- the other from the town Undertaker in Carrollton, Kentucky. Carrollton is my place of birth and where my grandparents resided.

Neither my Dad or the Funeral Director, David Wilhoite (who also happened to be a family friend) said why they were calling. However, I could tell by the tone of their voices and what chose not to say that my grandfather was gone from our lives forever.

I was 31 years old at the time and had already lost a couple of grandparents on my mother’s side. I went to their funerals, paid my respects and gone through the motions without a hitch. But this time it was different. This was someone close to me.

I had lived with my grandfather after high school while attending college in attempt to get my life in order. And while I was concerned about myself and future at the time, I didn’t realize I had become best friends with my grandfather. We did everything together from playing cards to fishing to raising a garden. And for the first time in my life I had experienced a devastating loss.

At the time I had been in the funeral business for 12 years. I remember being so concerned about who was going to speak, what casket he was going in, and songs to be played at the funeral that I lost focus on what was really going on-  The man I had become best friends with; leaned on for life advice and had an answer for everything was gone from our lives forever.

It took me a while to process it. I remember walking up to his casket, holding his hand one last time and thinking this is not him and life will never be the same. But I ask myself often, “would life be the same if he were still here?” And my answer is no it wouldn’t. I’m thankful he left this world without having to suffer. Yes he never got to meet his granddaughter, but he did meet my first two sons. He even got to spend a little quality time with my first (who happened to be named after his father).

But life demands to be replenished; It demands cycle and change. And God has a purpose. And as we mention him or one of his famous quotes about life to my children, they’re getting to know their great-grandfather in their own way; the same way I got to know mine. And sometimes I catch myself teaching my kids a lesson he taught me and can’t help but smile knowing he’s been right here with me all along. Does the hurt ever go away? I’d say it comes and goes as does the memories and smiles- And I wouldn’t change a thing!