COURTESY OF RICHARD BENTLEY
FAMILY
UNDERTAKING
HUFFINGTON
03.03.13
used the funeral home’s hearse, there’s
been an uptick in families who want
to use only select services of a funeral
home. Just as hospice care for the dying
gradually became mainstream over the
decades, newer generations of less traditional funeral directors are more likely
to be interested in helping make
arrangements for home services,
according to the National Funeral
Richard
Bentley
Directors Association.
(left) feels
families
“I don’t think there is a fushould
neral director who is opposed to
have more
control over
a family being more intimately
the funeral
involved as long as it better
process.
meets the needs of a family, but
of death, things can go badly in
this is an evolving process,” says
a hurry,” says Patton. “SomePat Patton, the co-owner of Pattontimes there can be rapid decomposition,
Schad Funeral & Cremation Services in
blistering on the skins or fluids leaking
Sauk Center, Minn., and a board memfrom the body, things that a family may
ber of the NFDA. In his 34 years in the
not be able to deal with. Our concern
business, he’s been asked to help arrelated to home funerals is that people
range one home funeral. “If you don’t
may just not be ready.”
want what we usually provide, how do
In a culture where talk of death is
we know what you do want? How do
avoided, direct experiences like home
we make it work for both of us? Funeral funerals have benefits and drawbacks.
directors are certainly willing to help
On one hand, seeing and sitting with a
families take care of their dead at home, dead loved one can help a mourner acbut because it’s new and different and
cept death, says Sue Wintz, who is a
outside what would be normal for our
consultant and managing editor at New
business, it takes time.”
York-based HealthCare Chaplaincy.
He also isn’t sure home funerals are
“That action is part of the healing,” says
always the right choice.
Wintz, who was a hospital and hospice
“In general, deaths at home and a
chaplain for 30 years.
person caring for everything is fine. But
But Wintz says that home funerals
we know that, depending on the cause
require “a lot of support and help from