Isabel T. Brusky
$$$ and Funerals in the 2009 Economy: An open letter to the people in the Pulaski area
Layoffs, businesses closing their doors, and foreclosures are creating hardship and suffering for many area families. It seems that everyone is feeling the weight of our nation’s economic distress in one way or the other, and on a daily basis.
I don’t know about you, but my email inbox is increasingly filled with ‘get rich quick’ schemes and other such consumer scams. Our local police departments remind us of the need for caution when dealing with offers that come through the mail, in emails, or via the telephone. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The only ones who might be ‘getting rich quick’ are those with questionable ethics and a disregard for the welfare of others. Those who are skilled at flying just under the radar are growing in number. Buyer beware!
As a lifelong member of this community and the owner of a business that has served you in your time of need for over 75 years, I would like to address some of my concerns as they relate to the economy and the cost of funerals.
We regularly receive calls from people who are price-shopping the cost of funerals. We welcome the opportunity to help the public understand their options and the expenses involved with their funeral/memorial choices. An item of concern, however, is that the questions generally revolve around the cost of direct cremations. I wonder if people are aware that, even though they are struggling financially, there are workable, inexpensive options to memorialize the life of their loved one. It is not necessary to limit your family’s experience of grief to a direct disposal of the body of the person who died. Even if done on a smaller scale, a full service funeral home will help you design a funeral or memorial that serves your needs. Recognition that we are grieving the loss of a person who has walked through life with us and put their footprints on our hearts is essential for our well-being. Respect for the dead is evidenced throughout world history. It was British Prime Minister William E. Gladstone (1809 - 1898) who stated:
"Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead,
and I will measure with mathematical exactness
the tender mercies of its people, their loyalty to high ideals,
and their regard for the laws of the land."
Most area funeral homes live this maxim. Yet, we each can’t be the place with the lowest prices, or the highest prices… many variables go into the costs of doing business at each of our establishments. We should each, however, offer the highest level of service to every family who comes to us in their time of need. I am proud to tell you that the vast majority of my colleagues are people of great integrity and compassion, men and women who work hard to keep the cost of funerals fair and reasonable, while providing funeral homes that offer first class service to the families each serves and the utmost dignity and respect to the remains of the persons who have died...
we put our own family’s name on our businesses as a measure of our accountability to you.
+You have the right to know to whom you are entrusting the care of your deceased loved one.
+You have the right to expect that your family, friends, and other guests will be treated with respect
and stellar hospitality, regardless of the type of funeral or memorial option you have chosen.
You are our neighbors. It's personal for us.
In these times of economic difficulty, I promise you:
- We will continue to be fiscally careful and responsible, in order to keep the prices for our professional services at a fair and reasonable level. Furthermore, we will ‘hold the line’ on raising prices for our services as long as we are able to do so.
- While doing this, we will continue to maintain a qualified and competent staff, complete facilities and suitable equipment required for comprehensive funeral service.
- We will continue to give back / support the community (civic groups, schools, churches, special needs), through donations of our time, our talent and our treasure.
- We will continue to listen to you, and make funerals available to you in as wide a range of price categories as necessary in order to meet the need of all segments of the community.
- And, in keeping with our Selected Independent Funeral Homes Code of Good Funeral Practice, we will continue to be responsive to the needs of those who are financially poor, serving them within their means.
