How is Your Choice Funerals different from a Traditional Funeral Director?

Traditionally, when a death occurs, we contact a Funeral Director, and hand over complete responsibility for making the funeral arrangements to that person. We tend to shy away from the "behind the scenes" activities, such as the removal and preparation of the body, the choice of coffin, even the choice of the correct person to lead the funeral ceremony. As the founder of Your Choice Funerals, I believe that these are your fundamental rights, and further that there is a huge amount of satisfaction to be gained from becoming far more involved than is traditionally accepted. Taboos are such that we dislike talking or even thinking about what might happen to us after death, yet there is nothing at all about which we should be worried. We care for our relatives during their final illnesses, sometimes for years, so why stop for the few days between death and the funeral? I see my role as your advisor, helping you to come to informed decisions. No question will be too small for me, in fact I positively encourage you to contact me with the slightest query.

 

 

What happens to the deceased person?

There are no fixed rules. If death occurred in a hospital, then by arrangement with the hospital, the person can usually stay in the mortuary there until a few days before the funeral. This is often necessary for completion of paperwork anyway. You can choose whether you wish to attend at the mortuary to carry out the removal, and we would then bring the person back home, so that we can start the funeral from there. This allows you to spend time with him or her at your convenience (not when you are told to come in by a business), and to know at all times where your loved one is. If death occurred at home or in a nursing home, the person can lie at home until the funeral (there are a few considerations to bear in mind in this case), or he or she can be transported to a local chapel of rest. The families I have helped over the years, who have chosen this option, have gained immense psychological as well as physical comfort from having a relative at home.