Last Monday, April 1, my father past away. Though his health had been declining, he had
taken a sudden turn, a week prior; actually the day I left Fla, after being with him for 3 weeks (I would not have come home, had he been in this condition).
My mother and father, were currently at their winter
home. And naturally, both of them, would
need to come home to VA, for the burial.
My mother would be driving home, because she wanted her car
home. With having a very important DR
visit on Wednesday, she would not begin her drive till after the
appointment. She broke the trip up, and
was back to VA by 2pm on Thursday.
We decided best, to wait for “family night” till Friday
night. And in hopes of folks not having
to take off from work, we paid the extra ($300 at the cemetery; other cost at
the funeral home) to have the funeral on Saturday.
Insight #1: Most funeral
homes, have connections with other funeral homes, out of town. So the funeral home, in our home town, immediately
took over upon my father’s death. His
remains were picked up at the hospital; he was embalmed (which must be done
before he could be flown home); took him to the airport, and flew him back to
VA. He was in VA by Wednesday morning;
had we been in a hurry, he could have been here by Tuesday night.
Insight #2: Remains can not be flown into any airport; only
select airports. My father was flown
into Richmond, and we live in Lynchburg.
Our funeral home here, went to get him in Richmond. The cost for the flight and ride to LYH was
only $ 900.
Not having the funeral within a couple of days, like many
are done, made the transition from life to death, much more easier ! This
extra time, from Monday to Saturday, was valuable in personal adjustment. It helped give “time” in settling over what
had happened.
Also, with taking this time, I did not have to go to the
funeral home, to look at our options till Tuesday, and not Monday ! My body didn’t have to go through that sudden
burial mode !
I truly suggest, keeping this suggestion in the back of
every ones mind, for the future, of having to bury a loved one ! My father was my best buddy; and I never
thought, I could handle this, as easy as I did !
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