How to Plan your Celebration of Life

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How to Plan your Celebration of Life

• An Evening of Thought Presented to _________
  (Catholic) Church
• Nancy Lohman, Lohman Funeral Homes, Cemeteries
  Cremation

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How to Plan Your Celebration of Life

• First the Key Decisions
• The ExperienceCreating Memorable Moments
  Lifes Keepsakes
• The Value of Memorialization
• Where do you go from here?

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The Key Decisions

• First Your Personal Preferred Choice
• of Disposition
• Burial (Interment) within a Cemetery
• Entombment in a Mausoleum or Crypt
• Cremation
• Forwarding out of state,
• followed by Burial or Entombment

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What Specifically is the Cremation Process?

• Process by which the body is reduced by intense
  heat over several hours to produce small skeletal
  fragments. These fragments are then processed
  through a grinder/sieve and placed in a container
  called an urn. The urn is then usually placed in
  a memorial niche or ground space in a cemetery or
  kept in some other location, such as your home.

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Is Forwarding the Remains Possible?

• Your Funeral Home here will serve as both your
  advisor and your protector/agent working long
  distance with another funeral professional.
• Your Funeral Home is experienced and has a
  network of other helpful professionals around the
  country.
• Most Funeral Homes belong to our national
  association (ICCFA) which greatly enhances our
  ability to efficiently coordinate the legal and
  practical details of a death through a variety of
  professional tools. These tools include books
  which provide information on funeral homes
  nationwide as well as daily newspapers nationwide.

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• Second Regardless of disposition, choose your
  funeral tribute of choice. Funeral rites aka
  burial rights ceremonies commemorating a life,
  performed in an established or prescribed manner.
• Funeral funeral rites held at the time of
  disposition with the body present.
• Memorial funeral rites held at the time of
  disposition without the body present.
• Committal Service the portion of the service
  which is conducted at the place of disposition.
• Forwarding up north (typically) for services
  up there.
• Graveside Service ceremony at the place of
  disposition (with no service prior
  to the graveside service).

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The Key Decisions

• Lastly- which elements of your familys
  celebration of your life are most important to
  you?
• Spend time reflecting on The Experience.
• Your visitation, funeral and final resting
  place are personal expressions of love and
  individuality.

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Creating Memorable Moments and Lifes Keepsakes

• The Funeral Experience
• Allows for a final act of love.
• Allows us to create the significance of our loved
  one and our loss.
• Like a baptism or wedding, the Rite of Passage
  (service) allows us to recognize an important
  event that distinguishes our lives forever.
• It commemorates life.
• Allows family and friends to say goodbye.

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• Creating Memorable Moments and Lifes Keepsakes
• The Funeral Experience
• Helps you establish ongoing support.
• Provides a safe environment to grieve.
• Provides an opportunity for extended and
  sometimes unexpected family, friends and
  acquaintances to grieve and show you compassion,
  comfort and caring.

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Creating Memorable Moments and Lifes Keepsakes

• The Funeral Experience
• Helps you gently embrace a new reality
• Helps you (especially a spouse) adjust to a new
  identity
• Allows for the first steps toward healthy
  emotional
• adjustment after loss
• We must accept that death has occurred before
• we can begin resolving our grief
• Helps you go from the present to memories
• Provides an occasion for saying goodbye
• reminiscing and reflection.

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Making it Personal and Unique

• The Vigil
• Eulogies
• Story Telling
• Personalization
• Photo tributes DVDs
• Memorabilia
• A small token or keepsake for each guest
• A written tribute
• A keepsake which is kept for a lifetime
• Is often a persons only printed life story

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• The Value of Memorialization
• Creating a permanent memorial of you and your
  life
• Sadly overlooked and leaves some family members
  feeling empty
• Requires careful thought, planning and financial
  resources, particularly if cremation is the
  preferred choice of disposition because of the
  myriad of choices

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• The Value of a Cemetery Memorialization
• Provides a tranquil sanctuary where you and your
  family can find peace, hope and healing
• It is a place where you can connect spiritually
  and emotionally
• It can be a place for dedicated thought,
  reflection and prayer
• It can be private as in family garden estates
  allowing for an entire area to be dedicated to
  your family name and/or consecrated and blessed

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Fr. Ryans Familys Private Family Catholic
Garden
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The Value of Above Ground Entombment
Memorialization

• It began with Jesus entombment
• It often has a permanent chapel
• It can be private with a walk-in vestibule
• Typically, it not only commemorates and pays
  tribute to a life, but also makes a statement
  about the impact that family has had in their
  profession or community, i.e. John Rockefeller.

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The Value of Memorialization

• when Cremation is the preferred choice
• Niches a space in a columbarium or mausoleum
• Glass front niches are used for the permanent
  placement of cremated remainsallows you to
  personalize and create a story
• Ground inurnment is used for the permanent
  placement of cremated remains
• Cremation memorials benches, honor rocks
• Scattering pond and scattering rock gardens

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Where do you go from here?

• Educate yourself
• Talk about your wishes with your family
• Complete a Personal Planning Guide
• Meet with a Pre-Planning Specialist
• What you should know
• Florida state laws highly regulate funeral homes
  and cemeteries
• Pre-planned funeral services are 100 refundable
  and/or transferable in the state of Florida

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Costs can be outlined in 4 areas

• Services of the funeral home
• Cemetery memorialization burial space or
  mausoleum crypt, cremation niche, scattering
  garden, family garden estate, and memorial marker
  or monument
• Casket and vault or urn and urn vault
• Optional items Death Certificate, flowers, etc.

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What you should know

• Funeral homes and cemeteries are financially
  audited every 3 years by the FL Department of
  Banking Finance
• Surprise inspections occur annually for all
  funeral homes by the FL Department of Banking
  Finance
• Funeral homes have 3 licenses
• Funeral Home License
• Pre-Need License (Certificate of Authority)
• Funeral Directors License
• Cemeteries must have 2 licenses
• Cemetery License
• Pre-Need License (Certificate of Authority)

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Why Consider Pre-Planning?

• Emotional Value Your loved ones will be
  relieved of making painful decisions at a
  difficult time
• Financial Value Eliminates emotional
  overspending
• Peace of Mind Your selections reflect your
  wishes
• By paying in advance, the price will never
  increase and you can choose an affordable payment
  plan

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Ask Who Owns the Company

• Family Owned
• A deep commitment to upholding professional
  standards and providing personal service
• Personal Pride our business is a part of our
  home town
• Were building relationships so that your family
  and friends will return to us
• Long term commitment
• were into our third generation

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Locally Owned

• Neighbors serving neighbors were a part of
  your community
• We have one singular focus all our attention is
  devoted to making our funeral home the best it
  can be
• Were not distracted by or bound to a corporate
  policy, so we can be more flexible and more
  responsive to your needs
• We take any opportunity to be involved in the
  community so that you know us personally
• We are able to create the kind of personal
  relationships that will allow us to provide the
  individual, sensitive service your family
  deserves

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Thank you so much for having us! Any
Questions? Call Nancy Lohman 386.451.2011