During the past few years, we have seen a trend in funeral planning that is disturbing if you think about the purpose of a funeral.
Studies show a funeral ceremony plays an integral role in helping a family come to grips with the loss of a loved one, and to me that means the funeral should be planned and performed as professionally as possible.
But a recent article in the Savannah Morning News (“Funeral and casket outlets are heading to the mall”) highlights my growing concerns that there are providers who are treating the funeral as a retail commodity and promoting convenience without considering the real value of the funeral ceremony to a grieving family.
In the article, putting movable kiosks into a mall in southern California is described as a “marketing innovation,” but I think it’s important to realize that a funeral is not just another service that can be standardized, boxed and sold on a shelf.
More and more alternative end-of-life options are being promoted because there are new providers trying to cash in as the Baby Boomer generation ages, but it seems like this less personal approach disregards what families need during the planning process.
A funeral isn’t a meaningless purchase that is placed in a bag and replaced a year later. The families we serve are often our friends and neighbors, and the funeral service represents the way we will say goodbye to someone we love for the last time and should be considered the beginning of the healing process.
As a native Savannahian, I would like to think our roots in faith and family would cause us to make the funeral ceremony a higher priority than other parts of the country. But in the past few years, we have seen the introduction of several alternative end-of-life service providers in our area that heavily promote low cost and convenience.
To me and other members of my family, being a funeral director is a vocation as much as a profession, and I believe working with families who have lost a loved one is an important role in the community.
There are financial considerations for each family to weigh, and reputable funeral homes should be expected to work within a family’s budget without compromising the quality of service.
But a funeral for a parent, grandparent or any loved one is a moment that won’t be forgotten and probably shouldn’t be planned during a trip to the Oglethorpe Mall.
Providers that focus solely on cost and convenience are undermining the value of a dignified service and discrediting the therapeutic worth of the funeral ceremony.
Whether a family chooses a traditional burial or cremation, how to handle the loss of a loved one deserves careful consideration, and studies have shown that appropriate funeral rituals can help people begin to accept that their loved one has made a transition.
The management of this sometimes confusing process by a professional funeral director often eases the tension and provides clarity as the family makes these important decisions.
What concerns me the most when I hear end-of-life services discussed as an impersonal commodity is that the families who don’t know the emotional value of a funeral are not going to receive the compassion and respect they deserve during a very emotional time.
Even as we are bombarded by promotional offers that promise faster and cheaper, I think it makes sense to realize that faster and cheaper isn’t always better.
If we begin to make decisions about funeral services using cost and convenience as the only factors, we’re doing a disservice to the life that was lived and losing something that is fundamental to properly memorializing lost loved ones.
Scott E. Weeks is the vice president of Fox & Weeks Funeral Directors and is part of the fifth generation of the Weeks family to operate the funeral home. Fox & Weeks has served Savannah since 1882.