One of the most overwhelming and emotional times of your life is losing a person that you love. It doesn’t matter whether or not their death is expected – it is still a shock. Once you get pass the shock, the overwhelm sets in. Most people have no idea what they should do when someone dies, so in this week’s article we’d like to explain a little bit to you about what happens and how we help you.
Burnett Regional Funeral Services is here to help, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
It may be that
funeral arrangements have already been started, particularly if your loved one’s
death was expected. In this situation, all you need to do is notify us of the
death, and we will get started on taking those arrangements forward for you.
If no plans have previously been put in place, that’s okay. Call us and we will
walk you through the process. We are here for you every step of the way, and
please rest assured that your loved one will be treated with the utmost dignity
and respect while in our care.
Within the first 24 hours after a death, we make arrangements to take the deceased into our care and we will also arrange a time and place for our initial meeting with you. We will discuss both of these things during our initial conversation with you. Meetings happen where you are comfortable. This is usually at your home, but can also be at our office.
What does the funeral director do?
Our job as the funeral director is to do everything we can to ease the stress on you, and to take care of all of the funeral arrangements. It is important to us that your and your loved ones wishes are respected, and that their life is celebrated as they would have wanted.
After our initial conversation, we will arrange for the body to be transferred
into our care, even if your loved one has passed away out of town, in a
different state or overseas.
We will liaise with the cemetery or crematorium on your behalf, organise the service, liaise with the celebrant or clergy, work with florists, make all necessary arrangements with the church, chapel or venue of your choice, register the death of your loved one, collect the relevant medical paperwork and dispatch as necessary, supply the hearse, collect floral and other tributes on your behalf, prepare the deceased for viewing, organise any required advertising, source music for the service, prepare slideshows if required and provide memorial attendance books for friends and family to sign. We can also refer you to grief counselling services if you feel this would be beneficial.
Our initial meeting
Our initial meeting with you will most likely last approximately one hour, and during this time we will help you to make several important decisions about the funeral. We will also go through everything needed to register the death, which we will do on your behalf. Births, Deaths and Marriages will issue the death certificate to you directly.
During our meeting, we will work through our About the Funeral booklet, which will record decisions that will help us to plan the funeral. This will take into consideration things such as:
- Where the funeral will take place
- Whether a celebrant or religious clergy will officiate the service
- Personalisation of the service – for example, photos, multimedia displays
- Music
- Readings
- Flowers
- Casket/coffin choice
- Pallbearers
- Cremation or burial
- Whether you would like to advertise the funeral
- Whether or not you would like a viewing of the body
- Who should give the eulogy and readings
- Whether or not there will be a wake
- Clothes and any jewellery for the deceased to wear
We will also be able to provide you with an estimated quote for the funeral at this meeting and discuss adjustments to meet your budget if necessary.
Following this meeting, we will be able to proceed with the funeral arrangements. We may ask you to provide photographs if you wish for us to create a slideshow for you, however some families also prefer to create this themselves. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to ensure the life of your loved one is celebrated and honoured in the best way possible, and we work with a range of local suppliers such as florists and caterers.
The day of the funeral
On the day of the funeral, you will be met by your funeral director, who will co-ordinate all aspects of your loved one’s funeral. Our goal is to ensure the day runs as smoothly as possible and is as comfortable as possible for you and your family.
Local business, local families
We are a local business caring for local families, and we always welcome our families to contact us after the funeral if they have any questions or concerns, or if they feel that we may be able to help them in some way. You can find more information about the services we provide by clicking here.
We provide funeral services to Gayndah, Biggenden, Mundubbera, Eidsvold, Monto and all surrounding areas. We will happily travel further afield to offer our services, so if you would like to know more, please get in touch.