Friday, Nov. 1963 ESS--S
in Praise of Funeral Directors
N olden days, Grandma used to fell us,
when a corpse was laid out, they used to
bank it wifh ice as a preservative. This must
have made poor old Uncle Humphrey look
suspiciously like a salt mackerel enthroned at
a fish market.
Then, at the wake, despite every pre-
caution, some compassionate friend was
bound to sneak in a baffle of spirits which
would be passed around outside the kitchen
door. The proceedings would naturally be-
come more convivial until they might well
end with "Auld Lang Syne" done in barber-
shop harmony around the coffin af two in
the morning. Then, of course, there would
be bloodshot eyes and thumping hangovers
among the pallbearers next morning, .....
That day has passed. Thank God. In our
time, following the shock of death, most tam-
Ill II F "
Funeral Director Include:
served in an active war period with honorable discharge as they
are entitled to a $250.00 death allowance if this is true.
Fig Out Forms
Persons covered under Social Security are entitled to a
death benefit ranging from $120.00 to $225.00 depending on
their contribution. Necessary forms are filled out and sent ti the
Social Security office. Transportation necessary to complete
funeral arrangements is made available to survivors.
The family informs the mortuary as to the time of the
Rosary and requiem Mass after contacting the priest. As far as
a funeral director is concerned, the important thing is to have
the time that is convenient for the family of the deceased and
the parish. It does not conflict with their schedule as the funeral
is at the church.
Give Use of Mortuary
The evening of the Rosary, the facilities of the mortuary
are available to friends and family as long as they wish.
The use of mortuary facilities is also included in the
service cost.
.
The day of the service, the family ;s called for at home,
brought to the church, taken to the cemetery and brought home
again. Cars are also furnished for the priest and pall bearers.
Necessary motorcycle escorts are provided.
Memorial Holy Cards, acknowledgment Cards, registers are
usually provided in the service cost ..... . :
Indigen'l" Dead
II
Burial cases usually begin when the Central Office ;s noti-
fied of a death by the King County Coroner's Office, King
County Hospital, Firland Sanatorium or by requests of out-of-
town relatives.
Bodies are assigned on a rotation basis with various funeral
homes.
Arrangements with the parish church for the requiem Mass
and ,cemetery plot are made by the C, entral Office.
In Washington State, Peluso said, we are very fortunate
in having a liberal law in which indigent funeral arrangements
and burials ,are paid for by the State Department of Public
Assistance."
If there are no resource's, the cemetery plot at both Cab
vat and Hal rood Cemeteries are made available by the
ArYhdiocese 0Yseaffle. Likewise the services of the funeral*direc-
tor in such instances are provided at no charge. •
It is estimated that 25 per Cent of the burials in Holyrood
Cemetery are welfare cases.
' In all cases, the dignity and respect of the deceased are
maintained. A low-priced cloth-covered casket is prescribed,
belying the misconception that pine boxes are standard orders.
Burials are granted wherever plots are available in any section
of the cemetery.
"From all appearances," emphasized Peluso, "you cannot
fell the difference between an indigent burial and any other."
By REV. RICHARD GINDER
;lies turn the funeral arrangements over to an
old and respected friend whom they have
known for years and who is expert ;n such
maters. They have grown up with him. He
is likely a fellow-parishioner.
N the early Church there was One honored
group that undertook the special office
of digging graves, the fossores, and to a
certain extent our present day funeral direc-
tors have inherited that function. Because
of their sensitive relationship with the dead,
the bereaved, and the Church, the com-
munity expects them to lead lives of isobriety
and respectability that almost measures up
to those of clerics. They must conduct them-
Selves at least with the gravity and dignity
that is expected Of the teaching profession,
physicians, and lawyers.
And they do fake their responsibility
very seriously. I am a personal friend of
an undertaker who kicked his apprentice
almost bodily out of the door for handling
a body in what he considered to be an un-
seemly manner.
Is undertaking a profess;on? I think so.
At least ;f is rapidly approaching that status.
It's no good saying that it's a fairly recent
development and recalling the clays when
the woman next door bathed and dressed
the remains and the local furniture dealer
supplied the coffin. After all, surgery started
in the barbershop and there are still a few
veteran barbers who go in for "cupping"
and will put a leech on a black eye. Under-
taking too has a body of relevant informa-
tion, techniques to be learned, and proced-
ures to be followed. Could you embalm a
corpse? Would you know how to get a death
certificate? Are you familiar with the burial
laws of your state?
E priests have a necessary interest in
a Catholic death. We want that body
in church for the f, aneraJ. It should be sprink-
led with holy water, incensed, and s;gnecl
with the Holy Cross B after the Mass and
again at the cemetery.
The family knows this. But in this age
of easy and cheap travel, the relationship
may be scaHered across the world. Time
must be allowed for the relatives to as-
semble. It has become a blessed convention
that friends call from near and far to pray
at the bier and leave a Mass card. The par-
ish organizations gather to recite the Rosa-
ry. If the funeral were held within 24 hours,
the relatives would feel aggrieved and the
deceased might lose most of those prayers.
But putrescence has already set in at the
very momehf of death. How can we gain a
few days? The remains must be embalmed.
Now here we encounter a puzzling con-
tradiction. The very people who object to
the incisions and injections required for
preserving the remains will suggest that,
instead, the body be slid into a furnace and
reduced to cinders! What's wrong with em-
balming? If is the only way we have of
gaining the flme needed for our usual
obsequies.
Should the body be laid out at home or
at the funeral director's? Everyone knows
where he is located. They might not be able
to find your house. He has a spacious par-
lor ready with soft lights and gracious
furnlsh;ngs. If is generally commensurate
wifh the social position of practically every-
one in the communify. If ;s swept and dusted
every morning. If you feel like going home
to rest or stepping out for a bite to eat,
you have the assurance that there will be
someone on hand +o answer the door and
receive callers.
O undertakers overcharge? No doubt
some of them do. But don't forget that
the dollar of 1947-49 is now down to about
45 cents. In 1919, you could get a piano
tuned for $2.00. By 1940, it was up to $5.00.
In 1950, if was $7.00. Now it costs $15.00.
You pick the funeral director, you pick
the casket, and you state the services re-
quired: home or funeral parlor, how many
limousines needed, the date of the funeral
Nobody can force you in any way, and there
;s an axiom in Moral Theology: "Scienf] ef
volenti non fit ;niuria" -- "There is no in-
justice where the person is knowing anci
willing."
In my last three assignments, I have
had the ioy of knowing three Catholic
undertakers who had won the confidence' of
pastor and his congregation over the
years. They were thoroughly good men who
helped the parish in many a charity case
that never got noised around. Their "pro-
motion" took the benign and helpful form
of passing out religious calendars imprinted
wifh our Mass schedule.
They were a "soft touch" for any par-
ish group ;n need of funds. They were al-
ways good for an ad in banquet programs
and yearbooks. If we needed extra chairs
for some function, who would supply them
but Joe, or Art, or "Brad"? If the Sisters
wanted to visit their motherhouse 50 miles
up the river, a fleet of cars was theirs to
command with the undertaker's own numer-
Ous sons at the wheels.
UT the fact ;s that these men are per-
forming a necessary function in Amer-
;can society. They have a right to a fair
profit and, believe me, they are not gouging.
Most of them five on a modest scale and
strggle even as you ancl your neighbors
do to get their children through school.
I say this because the profess;on is cur-
rently under fire through an article in Life,
based on a recent book, which seems to be
based in turn on the shenanigans of a few
wildcat operators in and around Los Angeles.
To generalize from such outrageous excep-
tions is not only mischievous but slanderous.
The whole point ;s -- know your funeral
director, and ;f you don't, then get advice
from those around you.BThe Sunday Visitor,
Oct, 6, 1963.
