Funeral wishes (pre planning)

hilstep2000

My Mamma died in Jauary this year. she put a note with her will saying what hyms and songs she wanted, which I carried out. I also know what my Dad wants. It helped me when I had to organise everything. I felt it was the last thing I could do for my Mamma, and I did it exactly as she wanted.

Primrose

I think for those left behind a funeral marks in a very visible and formal way the end of somenbody's life. For many grieving relatives it is a focal point which allows them to acknowledge their acceptance of death and mark a point where they feel able to start moving on emotionally. I know somebody whose father did not want a funeral. The family accepted his wishes but for a long time afterwards they all felt themselves in emotional limbo because they had no specific event which allowed them, friends and relatives to formalise his departure and gather together to celebrate his existence. I suspect that this probably hampered their grieving process. Most people feel the need to observe some kind of ritual in honouring their dead and perhaps you should ask yourselves whether your wishes not to have a funeral will perhaps make your eventual passing more difficult for those you love the most and are leaving behind.