Who Do I Work With When Planning a Funeral?

Whether you are planning a funeral after the loss of a loved one or choosing to preplan your own funeral, chances are you will work with someone from your funeral home of choice at some point during the process. The question is: Who will it be?

Once you have selected a trusted funeral home, who you will meet with is determined by your needs and wants (i.e. burial, cremation, memorial service, celebration of life, preplanning).

Continue reading to learn about the different roles of those you may be working with when it comes to planning final arrangements.

Phone Attendant

When you first reach out to your funeral home of choice, you will most likely speak with a phone attendant. This person will be able to answer any questions you have as you begin the process of planning final arrangements and will direct you to the right people.

A funeral home phone attendant will also be able to direct your questions about pricing, services, timelines, etc. to a funeral director or preplanning advisor to further assist you.

 All phone attendants here at Busch are actual Busch employees—they are not outsourced to a third-party call center. This means the person guiding you over the phone knows the business offerings and service options well, and will have your best interest in mind. Busch phone attendants are also available 24/7, so whether a death occurs over night or during normal business hours, someone is always available to take your call and assist you.

Funeral Director

Helping others to cope with the emotions of a major loss is a funeral director’s most important job. The funeral directors at Busch are experts when it comes to providing comfort, compassion and kindness for grieving families.

Funeral directors handle the many details that go into caring for someone who has passed. After meeting with a family, they are the ones who make all the arrangements for the funeral or memorial services.

The following are some of the items your funeral director will handle: 

• Consulting with survivors and assist in funeral plans.
• Providing guidance on final disposition options and associated costs.
• Arranging the embalming, sanitary washing, dressing, cosmetology, hairdressing, and restoration (if required) of those who passed.
• Filing the death certificate and cremation authorization form (if applicable).
• Publishing death notices and obituaries.
• Providing of guest books, prayer cards, funeral products (i.e. music, flowers), transportation and on or offsite catering.
• Coordinating plans with cemetery and/or crematory.
• Planning, organization and supervising of visitations, ceremonies and processions.
• Arranging for pallbearers, automobiles and special services (fraternal or military), as requested by the family.
• Directing of services in a professional and compassionate manner.
• Assisting families with Social Security benefits, veteran’s insurance, grief counseling and other death-related needs.

Funeral directors are here to help ease you through every step when a death occurs. They understand the ins and outs of the industry very well and can navigate them easier than you might be able to.

Preplanning Advisor

If you’ve ever had to arrange a funeral for a loved one, you understand how stressful it can be. You’re trying to choose what you think your loved one would have wanted during immense grief—it’s never easy.

You can avoid this happening to your family when you pass by working with a preplanning advisor.

Our preplanning advisors will help walk you through the same steps as a funeral director, but instead of executing the plans right then and there, the final wishes and vital information are documented and put on file at the funeral home until the time comes when they are needed.

A preplanning advisor helps you arrange all aspects of your funeral:

• Type of service and visitation.
• Where it will be held.
• Items like the casket, vault, urn and headstone.
• Personal touches you want included (clothing, flowers, music, etc.).
• How you will pay for it.

 Our preplanning advisors at Busch can explain your options, answer your questions and walk you through the process within one afternoon.

Transfer Team

No matter where your loved one may have passed—your home, the hospital, hospice, etc.—you will likely work with someone from the transfer team at your funeral home of choice.

After your initial conversation with the phone attendant and funeral director, this is the person that transfers your loved one into the funeral home’s care.

Here at Busch, our transfer teams are available 24 hours a day, so they will be able to help you whenever and wherever you may need it.

Certified Celebrant

The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) reports that more and more families are seeking a way to personalize funeral or memorial services to make them unique celebrations of life. This can be done with the help of a Certified Celebrant.  

Here at Busch, our Certified Celebrants help guide your family on grieving together and celebrating the life lived. Our celebrants are trained to design and conduct a personalized tribute that honors your beliefs and the legacy of your loved one.

Working with a Certified Celebrant gives grieving families a chance to add special touches to the service that remind them of their loved one as they say their final goodbyes. Some personalization options could include:

• Display of cherished belongings.
• Flowers.
• Multimedia tribute.
• Music.
• Photo collage presentation.
• Unique requests.

Download Our Funeral Planning Checklist

After a death has occurred, there are many decisions to be made and details to be organized. We’ve created this funeral planning checklist to provide you with the necessary steps and answer the most common questions we hear as you embark on planning final arrangements. Download yours now!