Between the stock-outs of basic necessities at our major stores and following our State's "safer at home" order, our lives have changed dramatically over the past few weeks.
How our society currently conducts business has also affected families and funeral professionals. Yet all of us at Schramka Funeral Homes are here for you and your family during this uncertain time, just as we have been for over 125 years.
We are recognized as an essential service, and therefore we've had to make a few adjustments.
We've had to become creative and refine how we are providing families with meaningful funeral services within the social distancing requirements.
We are fortunate to live in an age of technology. We can use mobile communications and the Internet to help us continue to provide caring funeral service consultations
for the families and communities we serve.
Live streaming funeral services
using one's computer or smartphone is another way we can reach loved ones who are safely sheltering at home. This can afford friends and family the opportunity to bear witness and offer their condolences in real time.
Drive-up funeral services
is another way we've considered allowing family and friends to pay their respects. Such a service could be conducted under the portico of the funeral home or at the cemetery, and attendees in a procession of vehicles may offer condolences and remembrances at a safe, no-contact distance.
Of course, what's most important is that we will do everything we can, in the interest of everyone's safety, to provide a loving and dignified funeral for their loved one in the middle of a modern pandemic.
This pandemic is affecting us all. As we continue on this strange and uncertain journey together, many of us in our communities are working from home. And that too is a dramatic change.
For some, having so much time at home has inspired us to Spring clean, organize closets, bake, read more, and spend more quality time with our loved ones living with us. It also gives us time to consider our futures.
It's natural to think about what will happen to us if we become sick. Are we prepared financially? Do we and our loved ones have an advanced directive or living will? Have we designated a financial and
a health Power of Attorney (POA)?
Finally, have we made final arrangements
ahead of time to relieve the emotional and financial burden on those we leave behind?
While we continue to practice social distancing and spend most of our time at home over the next however many weeks, I invite you to explore the opportunity to take care of these important questions if you haven't done so already.
Stay safe and healthy, everyone.
Kelly Teague is Licensed Preplanning Specialist at Schramka Funeral Homes. To find out more about advance planning or to ask questions about current practices, please call Schramka Funeral Homes at 262-432-8100.
