Mortuary industry offers more personalized services

Michelle Swafford

Monday, Jan. 19, 2004 | 10:54 a.m.

The role of the funeral home is changing and the options for caring for the deceased are increasing, Las Vegas Valley morticians say.

Mausoleums, themed funerals and pre-planning of burial and funeral arrangements are just some of the requests increasingly made on behalf of deceased loved ones.

People want to remember their loved ones in a very personalized manner these days, said Patrick Downey, vice president of sales and marketing for Palm Mortuary in Las Vegas and president-elect of the International Cemetery and Funeral Association.

"Families today want something that is significant and meaningful," Downey said.

About 1,200 funeral home directors and sales people were in Las Vegas last week at the International Cemetery and Funeral Association conference to discuss the latest trends in their industry and how to respond to the public's requests. Downey was interviewed prior to the conference.

There is a growing demand for themed funerals, called "celebrations of life" at Palm Mortuary. In addition to displaying photos of the deceased, personal memorabilia and props are often used to personalize the service.

For example, Palm Mortuary offers nine backdrops with props to portray various scenes including golf courses with a cart and clubs and old western sunsets with boots and a hay bale.

One motorcycle enthusiast even had his motorcycle next to the casket, Downey said.

When people celebrate their weddings and childbirths, they go all out; the same personalization is beginning to be applied to funerals, Downey said.

"This is the event where you say goodbye to someone and celebrate that life," he said.

E. G. "Ned" Phillips, vice president of community relations, said some people also request to have their pets present during the funeral service.

Other people have requested dove and butterfly releases or for specific musical instruments to be played, he said.

In addition to personalizing the service, catering has become more common with funeral services. Palm Mortuary does not have in-house catering, but other mortuaries are offering catering along with in-house flower shops and casket showrooms.

It's about one-stop convenience for the customer, Downey said.

Funeral services aren't the only things being more personalized. An increasing number of people are asking for personalized care in dealing with the remains of their loved ones. This especially applies to where bodies and cremated remains are buried.

Cremation is very common in Nevada with more than 60 percent of Nevadans who die being cremated, Phillips said.

He said part of the reason is because there is a melting pot of cultures, many of which prefer cremation.

Also, many people have their family roots elsewhere and cremated remains are easier to transport than a body, Downey said.

Once a body is cremated, the remains can be scattered, placed in an urn or placed in a decorative container such as a piece of jewelry or a statue so the remains can be divided among multiple people, Downey said.

"Families are more scattered than they once were," he said.

There's also a resurgence in requests nationally for private mausoleums. This allows people to place personal mementos around the deceased and gives families and friends a private place to memorialize the deceased, Downey said.

Both bodies and cremated remains can be placed in a mausoleum, he said.

The other way mortuaries are changing their roles is by encouraging more preplanning of funeral and burial arrangements.

More than 80 percent of people agree that preplanning is a wise thing do to, but only 12 percent put their wishes in writing and discuss them with loved ones, Downey said.

He said more people are preplanning, but there are still far too many people who leave the burden on loved ones after they die.

Downey said there are a few things people can do to make the pre-planning process easier. For example, they should make sure any prefunding agreements they enter are portable in case the person moves. Also, they should write down who controls the money in the account.

He said seeing if a funeral home is a member of a trade organization is also a good idea because if it is, it must follow industry standards and ethics.