What Does a Funeral Director Do?

After a loved one passes and you choose a funeral home, your family sits down with a funeral director. It is the funeral director’s job to help coordinate the many aspects of your loved one’s service. In this article, we will take a look at the many steps we take to put your loved one’s memorial service together. 

Initial Meeting with Your Funeral Director

When you come to a funeral home after a death in the family, you will meet with a funeral director to plan their service. This meeting is to go over all of the planning aspects of the service. This can include selecting a room for the service, selecting a casket, burial or cremation options, and more. They are also generally in charge of filing for and receiving a death certificate. If your loved one has funerary benefits available to them, such as from veteran status or union service, the director can help you file the paperwork. Your funeral director will advise you on next steps, gather information to write the obituary, and help prepare your family for the days to come. 

The Visitation

The visitation, also known as the wake, is the time of gathering loved ones at the funeral home. The funeral director will be assisting you throughout the planning and execution of the visitation. Before the service, they may coordinate floral arrangement dropoffs and other aspects of preparing the room for your loved one’s mourners. They may also coordinate with your loved one’s church if clergy are requested for a service. During the service, funeral directors are on standby should the family need any assistance throughout.

The Funeral Service

Your funeral director will help coordinate every aspect of your loved one’s funeral service. This most often includes organizing a religious service at your loved one’s place of worship, and transportation of the casket to the church and burial grounds. Your funeral director can also coordinate limo service for loved ones travelling with the procession. In counties where processions require permits, the funeral home will handle the filing for your family. 

Burial

Your funeral director will often act as a point of contact with your loved one’s cemetery during the funeral process. They can help you organize a plot purchase if your loved one did not have one already. In the days leading up to the funeral service, they will help ensure that the cemetery is ready to receive your loved one. They will also coordinate any requested memorial service at the burial site. After the burial, the funeral director may announce information regarding a repast, if your family chooses to host one.

Cremation

If your family opts for cremation instead of burial, the funeral director will handle the process for you. They help you every step of the way, from coordinating transportation of the deceased to helping you choose an urn. They can also help your family choose what to do with the cremains. Some families decide to hold on to the ashes. Others will opt for a scattering ceremony. You can also choose to bury cremains at a cemetery or store them in a columbarium. 

After the Service

Your funeral director’s job doesn’t end as soon as the burial service is done. They will continue working with you for any necessary paperwork regarding your loved one’s death certificate. If your funeral home is also providing memorial stone services, they will handle any logistical aspects with the cemetery. Overall, it is your funeral director’s job to make sure your loved one’s service runs smoothly from start to finish. 

Matthew Funeral Home does not provide medical, legal, or financial advice via articles. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for legal, financial, or medical advice.
For over 50 years, Matthew Funeral Home has been serving the Staten Island community. We can help with almost every aspect of your loved one’s memorial service. Our family is here to serve yours, every step of the way.