Removing the Burden of the Funeral

Funerals themselves are good things. Death and loss and grief are difficult and painful, and most unwanted. But gathering together to share in loss with family and friends provides comfort and helps people begin the process of healing. Honoring an individual through a personalized ceremony is a time-tested ritual that strengthens the bonds of family and community, and reminds those in attendance of the preciousness of their connections with one another.



But someone will always have to plan the funeral. Planning a funeral or memorial service is a detailed process that requires important decisions to be made and time spent coordinating with the funeral home, searching for vital documents and talking to insurance companies and financial institutions. Planning a funeral or memorial service while experiencing acute grief can be extremely difficult and overwhelming. When a person has just lost someone they love deeply, even the most simple of tasks can feel monumental.

It’s a weight no one wants to stack onto their own family’s shoulders when they die. The good thing is, you don’t have to. You can still be honored with a funeral or memorial service without your family having to do a thing. You can have as extravagant or as simple a funeral as you wish, without your loved ones having to pay a penny. All it takes is planning ahead.

Preplanning, or making your final arrangements in advance, allows you to plan and pay for your own funeral before you die. You can plan as many or as few details about your final disposition (cremation or burial), or services (do you want a traditional funeral or memorial service? A visitation or rosary? A party to celebrate your life?) as you like, all the way down to the clothes and casket you’d like to say your final goodbye in.

Although removing the time, energy and financial responsibility required to put together a funeral off your loved ones’ plates, preplanning your funeral has other benefits as well. It relieves your family from questioning what you would have wanted, and quells any disputes that may arise between family members.



Preplanning allows you to part this world exactly as you want to. As the old adage goes, it’s your funeral. Preplanning makes that possible. Want a horse-drawn hearse and hand-picked pallbearers? Love the color purple but hate orchids? Whatever your unique tastes and personality, preplanning gives you the opportunity to put your personal touches on your own services.

Prepaying for your final arrangements not only takes the financial stress off your family when the time comes, it saves you money, too. By locking in today’s prices, you are protected from inflated prices years or even decades in the future. Remember what gas cost twenty years ago? Just imagine what consumer prices will be ten, twenty, or even thirty years from now. When you preplan, your money is held in an insurance or trust account until you die, guaranteeing safety and ensuring it is used to pay for your funeral plans.

It’s never too soon to plan your funeral. As uncomfortable as the thought can be, the reality is that everyone will die one day and no one knows when that day will be. Being prepared will protect your family from unexpected funeral planning and costs starting the day you make your plan.

We encourage individuals to begin talking about preplanning with their family. This helps create conversations that include loved ones and allows them to express their own feelings, needs and opinions. When the day comes to put it all down in writing, you can all feel at peace knowing a difficult experience will be made easier. We’ve put together a simple checklist to make it easier to begin thinking about what your final wishes will be.

All you have to do is call an experienced funeral home and they will schedule an appointment to discuss your final wishes. Our funeral directors at Farris Funeral Service in Abingdon, Virginia will discuss your needs and preferences, show you your options, and help you put together a plan that fits your needs and budget. We will keep your plan secure until it’s needed.

You can also begin preplanning online. This convenient option lets you make arrangements wherever you want, whenever you want to. If at any time you want to make changes to it, all you have to do it give us a call at (276) 623-2700.

Planning your own funeral isn’t something your family will request for their birthday or Christmas. But taking away the stress and time spent planning your arrangements while grappling with their loss is a gift that will bring them peace for a lifetime.