The Forgotten Cost: An Overview Of Funeral Service

The Forgotten Cost: An Overview of Funeral Service

Death, dying, funerals, are not your typical dinner conversation. But for someone like me who has grown up in the industry, quite literally, it is not unusual. My father is the owner of three funeral homes in Virginia, Hibbing, and Tower, Minnesota. I may not have realized it, but I have seen several trends in funeral services. For this paper, I will be enlightening you with a brief history of funeral service, the types of funerals, and the cost of funerals.

History of Funeral Service

Funerals have been around as long as humans have. “Research indicates that as far back as 50,000 years ago, man exhibited concern for the dead” Lensing (2001) stated. The Egyptians, Greeks and Romans also had rituals about death and the possibility of an afterlife. The Middle Ages society was one of the first socities to accpet the idea that death was a part of life and that all people had to die. Also during the Middle Ages, rituals of mourning became evident. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the mourning rituals became more elaborate. The rituals included ornate tombstones and a plethora of mourning paraphernalia Lensing (2001).

The ninteeth century was a turining point for mourning, grief, and funerals. During this time, the care and ceremonies for the deceased loved one were held at the home. The body was washed and prepared for the ceremony by the family and a family member usually built the coffin. Friends and family went to the home to view the body and pay their respects. After the body had viewed, it was carried to the church or cemetary for the commital. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the undertaker’s role had grown. He was no longer just the man who furnis...

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...d friends. There are many emotions involved for the family and friends of the loved one and having a funeral provides a structured and safe environment to express them.

There are three main goals for a funeral: the physical goal, the social goal and the psychological goal according to Lensing (2001). The physical goal of funerals involves the remoal of the deceased and the opportunity for mourning family and friends to express their grief Lensing (2001) found. The social goal is as simple as it sounds, it is to provide a community for the family and friends that recognize the change in relationships after death and to support them during these changes Lensing (2001) stated. “The psychological goals are to assist the mourners in accepting the reality of death and provide a starting point to process the feeelisng assiociated with grief” according to Lensing (2001).