The Importance of Honoring your Loved One’s Funeral Wishes

The passing of a loved one can be a difficult and overwhelming time for every party involved. However, when it comes to planning the funeral, sometimes our own expectations and the desires of the deceased can come into conflict. Throughout this article, we will take a look at why it is important to honour the deceased by providing them with the service that they had envisioned.

When it comes to the service, the majority of the time, your loved one would have provided a will or some sort of instruction on what they would like for their service. It is important to remember that this is their way of controlling an uncontrollable event. In many cases, your loved one would not want to place the financial burden on yourself or other family members, all whilst maintaining a little bit of themselves within the service.

When planning the memorial or funeral service, what ever they may have preferred, remember that this is their celebration of life, and not your own. Think of ways that you can include things that interested them or things that they loved, you can do that by adding pictures and memorabilia. When you are including the aspects the deceased wanted in the service you are respecting them and their final wishes.

Common Last Requests

Here are a few common last requests that families often have difficulty coming to terms with:

No Funeral

This is the most important and difficult request for families to understand. In most cases, your loved on does not want to put the financial burden on their family members and would prefer to have a memorial or gathering of friends and family.
Instead of planning a funeral, you can try organizing a dinner in their honour or even a graveside memorial for them. Some people have also chosen to honour their loved one’s by planting tress in their favourite garden or even dedicating a bench at their favourite park in their honour.

Cremation vs. Burial

The debate of burial options is often the most challenging for people to overcome, as people have their own personal and religious beliefs on the topic. If the deceased has asked to be cremated but it goes against your personal beliefs, please respect the deceased and their choice. If they have mentioned to you that cremation is important, respect their choices, because it may be a decision that you regret later on.

If you have any further questions on this topic, please contact us at Wagg Funeral Home.