Chapter 2: If you are planning a service
Introduction
It was comforting to me to have so many of my daughter’s colleagues and friends show up to honour her. I had not realized just how respected she was, and how many lives she had touched in her work.
During the first few days after a death, many demands may be placed on grieving family members or friends in preparation for a service. For example,
What kind of service should it be?
Should the person’s body be buried or cremated? What do you need to buy or prepare before the service?
Where do you arrange a grave marker, if you wish to have one?
People looking back on the period right after a death often
wonder how they managed all the decision-making. Some friends and families
discuss the dying person’s wishes for a service well in advance, but in many
families, decisions are made after the death has occurred.