When a person thinks of a dying, often it is presumed that the event will happen close to home.

Sometimes, it doesn’t. Sometimes the place of death and the place where services will happen are separated greatly geographically. When this happens, perhaps family members are thrown into a conundrum of how to handle the arrangements.

Let me assure you, it is very easy. Simply call the funeral director in the location where the services will occur.

Let’s talk about Uncle Nemo in this situation. He lives in Wellsville and plans to be buried in Stannards. He has not made any formal arrangements as yet, but his family knows these are his wishes and they desire to have the services in the Wellsville area.

Uncle Nemo decided to make a cross-country auto trip to visit old Army buddies in California. As he was returning home, he was in a car accident that cost him his life. Among all the chaos of dealing with a long-distance tragedy, the family is thrown into turmoil about how to handle funeral arrangements. However, Cousin Roddy remembers what he was told.

“Call the funeral home that will be doing the services.”

 

For Uncle Nemo, that means that Cousin Roddy calls Baker-Swan Funeral Home in Wellsville, New York — not Kashgrabber Funeral Home in Monterey.

Baker-Swan Funeral Home will discuss the desires for the services with the family and then they will find a reputable firm in Monterey that will perform any services requested at “trade rates.”

Trade rates means that the remote funeral home will do the services, usually at a lower rate than retail rates that the public sees on their price sheets. It is a courtesy offered between funeral homes. Often it is possible to find a firm that offers only this kind of service, through channels that the general public would not know about.

The result is that the services are rendered under the direction and management of Baker-Swan Funeral Home, allowing the family to process their grief without the stress of long-distance arrangements.

There are many variables in long-distance arrangements that your funeral director has training and experience to manage. Whenever you or a friend comes up against a long-distance situation, please call your local funeral director first. At the very least, he will advise you of your best course of action.