Issue 13.16
Please take a look at the photo of the casket printed along with this article. It is a photo from the funeral service of former First Lady Nancy Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA, on March 11, 2016. Mrs. Reagan, who served as First Lady from 1981 to 1989, died March 6, at the age of 94. What’s wrong with the casket in the photo? Maybe it took you a while to notice, but as a funeral director, I was immediately aghast. The casket is off-center! The casket should be perfectly centered on the bier it is resting upon. The casket was never really in any danger of falling, but it sure looks bad to see it unevenly displayed.
A military honor guard arrived carrying Mrs. Reagan’s casket, and it is a beautiful casket. It is called a “Marsellus Masterpiece” and is made of solid mahogany. In my opinion, the funeral director in charge should have noticed that the casket was off-center and remedied the situation immediately. The photo included here is from a CDFuneralNews on-line article and is appropriately entitled, “The Entire Funeral Profession Freaked Out Over This Picture.”
The funeral business is all about the details. The little things. As a funeral director, I have one opportunity to make sure everything is perfect for each family I serve. It’s a matter of respect for the deceased, and there are no second chances. Whether it’s centering a casket or folding a flag, a person only has one funeral and the details need to be just right.
At Serenity Funeral Home, we take great pride in what we do and how we do it. Our goal for each family that we serve is for everything to be perfect. We don’t claim to be perfect in all we do, but that is our goal. And all details matter to us – whether they happen behind closed doors at the funeral home or during a large, nationally-televised service.
Please stop by our office to obtain a copy of a free funeral preplanning 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.