I read a tear jerker article yesterday in the Minneapolis Tribune that you can read here.  The article deals with the July 6 death of a 6 year old Iowa boy and how his parents are using his wishes from speaking candidly with him about what he would want for his funeral and burial preferences.

The article relates how his parents – once they knew that his cancer was terminal – asked him about these traditionally adult topics and then used his responses to compose his obituary and make his funeral plans.  For instance, according to the article, when the child was asked whether he prefered burial or cremation, his response was, “I want to be burned (like when Tommy’s mom died) and made into a tree. . . .”

Next Saturday his service will take place and many of his last requests will be included.  . such as five bouncy houses for his friends, snow cones, carnival games, and fireworks.  The obituary states that the burial of his ashes will be private and his parents prefer it in a nature preserve so his tree will reside in a protected area.

Funeral Director Daily take:  I’ve tried not to look at this individual story personally but have used it to look at it how things have changed in our industry since I came into the full time funeral directing world in 1980.  If this death had happened back then parents generally “did” what was traditional and chose one of two or three children’s caskets that were available, had a visitation, and funeral service very much in keeping with the traditional adult funerals of the day.

Cremation was not as accepted, especially in my rural area, so while that was a possibility it was probably not a choice very often.

In my opinion, we have came a long way in how we let people grieve, remember, memorialize, and celebrate in a way that allows them to honor and respect the loved one they have lost.  And, in this case, the family is very creative in solving their unique emotional needs.

The question that this story brings to me is about traditional funeral homes.  Are you ready when families come to you with these kinds of ideas?  Are you creative when they ask you what can be done to honor and memorialize their loved one in their unique ways?

There are wedding planners. . . will there be “exclusively” funeral planners?  Historically, people that have owned and operated funeral homes have been very conservative and not real creative when helping families through their service choices.  Will funeral service break into two distinct realms? . . . . Those that handle the deceased body will be one realm or business and those that are creative and help “plan” the services/celebrations that families want wil be another realm?

I think we may be entering into that territory — a territory where a low cost provider can help the family with the disposition such as cremation and another provider, maybe someone they have heard is very creative, that a family can turn to to design a service that is meaningful to them.  If you own a traditional funeral home, I think that this type of possibility should be on your SWOT list as a threat.  In my opinion, the best way to combat a threat like this would be to make sure that you have an open mind about all services and requests.

One thing is certain. . . . . funeral service will continue to evolve to a service that consumers demand. . . Make sure that your firm evolves with funeral consumer wishes.

[wpforms id=”436″ title=”true” description=”true”]