The Secret Lives of Funeral Directors
Funeral homes in Orlando and throughout the country are lead by some of the most dedicated professionals in any industry. This unusual trade is often passed down through family businesses for generations. Even as trends in culture shift and families’ final wishes and preferences change, very little is understood about the particular occupation of the funeral director and the appropriate demands of the work being performed. Orlando cremation services, burials, and memorials are often such a difficult experience for surviving families that it can be difficult to fathom the idea of dealing with the consequences of death on a regular basis. However, funeral industry professionals across the country do share their unique experiences and insight.
Seeing to All the Little Details
The term “undertaker” was traditionally used in reference to the professionals of Orlando funeral homes because it was often the funeral director’s duty to undertake all the many unpleasant details and burdens of funerary care. To this day, funeral directors take part in a multitude of small but significant details that ease the grieving process. Funerals and memorial services are often planned within only a few days, with added difficulty when the loss is sudden or unexpected. Every small detail from the floral arrangements to music, to the chosen attire of the staff, is considered in the entire process.
What You Rarely Hear About the Embalming Process
Families that prefer an open casket viewing are often seeking the solace of what is referred to as a “positive picture memory”. Survivors want the opportunity to see their loved one as lying peacefully at rest, and the very common practice of embalming helps preserve and create this image. What few people realize are the elaborate and somewhat shocking techniques that Orlando funeral homes use to create this peaceful illusion.
Embalmers often use staples, glue, props, and other measures to adjust clothing and correctly position bodies in a seemingly natural state. The details of the embalming procedure itself are often quite unsettling for people who prefer to view our final moments as only a deep slumber. Many funeral homes in Orlando must also take added steps for deceased people who are badly injured or sickly to make them appear well and happy.
A Schedule That is Always Full
The directors of Orlando funeral homes must remain available at any hour in order to provide services for families in need. The constant demand for availability means that late nights, weekends, and holidays are never guaranteed. Funeral directors must be prepared to leave their personal lives at any time, regardless of inconvenience, to see to the needs of another family’s loss.
Working with Grieving Clients
Unlike any other service industry, funerary care has the exceptional challenge of providing trusted and compassionate care in the most somber of situations. It is difficult to discuss money and payments with people who are still deeply grief-stricken. Furthermore, the mourning process can often affect people’s reasoning, mood, and temperament. Families will often quarrel following a loss, and it is the legal and moral duty of any funeral home in Orlando to act in the interests of the deceased’s final wishes even amidst disagreement amongst the surviving family. The work demands a great deal of patience, tact, and discipline.