Losing a loved one during a global health crisis presents some difficult challenges, particularly when it comes to holding a wake or funeral. For some families, waiting until it is safe to hold a traditional wake is too hard to accept. Fortunately, there are some ways you can hold a socially distanced event that allows you to properly mourn your loved one without gathering a large group of people in one small space. Here are some ideas to discuss with your funeral home director as you plan funeral services for your dearly departed.
Five-Minute Visitation
While the temptation is to linger at a wake and share stories of your loved one, this might not be the best idea during a pandemic. Instead, encourage visitors to spend five minutes in the funeral home's viewing room. This provides enough time to say a prayer and final goodbye, and it makes it easier for everyone to have a quiet period of reflection without anyone else in the room. Your funeral home director can have staff stationed at the entrance to encourage this time limit so you don't have to control the flow of mourners.
Virtual Visits With Family
Visiting with each mourner can expose you and your immediate family to potential infection during a pandemic. Instead, consider setting up a virtual presence. You can appear on a live feed from another room in the funeral home to greet visitors as they arrive without having to worry about potential exposure. Have your funeral home director set up a camera with access to your live feed in the viewing room. Placing the camera near the guest book is a great option, but you may also want to set it up in the waiting room to allow more time for visitation in the viewing room. When there are no visitors present, you can return to the viewing area to spend more time with your loved one.
Recorded Eulogies
Because you won't likely be able to gather everyone together for a traditional funeral service, use the wake as an opportunity to record eulogies from friends and family members. Setting up a camera in the funeral home to record these tributes offers a more professional alternative to videos recorded from home on a laptop or tablet. Your funeral home director can set up a lectern and camera for this, and he or she can also help you compile the footage for a private funeral service. Be sure to let mourners know about this option in advance to provide time for creating a speech. Recorded eulogies can also take the place of the traditional conversation that happens during a wake, so you can still share memories about your loved one.
Plexiglass Booth
If you do prefer to remain in the viewing room throughout the wake, ask your funeral home director about setting up a plexiglass booth or barrier for you and your immediate family members. While this barrier won't protect you completely from a potential infection, it can provide an added layer of safety. Ask for the booth or barrier to be set up on the side of the room to avoid direct contact with visitors as much as possible.
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After losing a loved one a few years ago, I could tell that there were some things we needed to do in order to plan for future events. I was really nervous about the idea of being faced with losing a family member who had an income, so we started going through and working on taking care of future plans. We were able to find a great funeral home that offered exactly what we were looking for, and we talked with them about our wishes. After we had all of our arrangements made, I was amazed with how much happier I felt. Read more on this blog to learn about funeral homes.