Columnists

Personalize Your Funeral

Issue 39.14

Howard Stern delivered the eulogy.  Broadway singer/actress Audra McDonald sang, “Smile.”  A tribute was delivered by TV anchor Deborah Norville.  Hugh Jackman sang, “Quiet Please, There’s a Lady on Stage.”  Bagpipers played “New York, New York.”  Fashion designer Dennis Basso summed it up by saying, “It was uplifting.  We were celebrating her life.”  Of course, the above-mentioned refers to the funeral proceedings of Joan Rivers, whose funeral, as reported by the AP, was a “star-studded event that brought together the worlds of Hollywood, theater, fashion, and the media.”

Rivers is the perfect example of what it means to personalize your funeral.  In her 2012 book, “I Hate Everyone….Starting With Me”, Rivers stated that she hoped for a “huge showbiz affair with lights, cameras, action” and “Hollywood all the way.”   The printed funeral program also included a page with River’s three most classic lines:  “Can we talk?”  “Who are you wearing?” and “Because I’m a funny person.”

A funeral should be a tailor-made event that reflects the significance and value of the deceased.  It is tremendously important to take the time to pre-plan your funeral.  Documenting your wishes will ensure that your funeral service is personalized.    Once you have chosen between cremation and burial, the next important decision is how best to honor a life well lived.  Services can be simple or elaborate, religious or secular, traditional or contemporary.

It is important for many families to remember their loved one with a tribute or service.  Funeral services facilitate the sharing of memories between family and friends.  They also channel broad community support, allowing friends and neighbors to pay their respects to the family.  Finally, funeral services are a catalyst to the healing process.  Joining with others to remember the deceased provides memories that will later help the bereaved adjust to the reality of the loss.

Although you may not feel as elaborate or important as Joan Rivers, you are important to your family and friends.  You deserve the opportunity to personalize your service beforehand, and your family deserves the opportunity to remember you in a manner befitting your personality and style.

Please stop by our office to obtain a copy of a free funeral pre-planning guide.  Serenity Funeral Home is located just off Riverside Drive at 1316 S. 400 E., St. George, UT, (435) 986-2085, or visit us on-line at www.SerenityStG.com.

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