We hope this booklet has answered some of your questions and shed some light on funeral service and the role of the funeral director. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that the funeral director’s role is service and support, and the first thing to do when a death occurs, regardless of where, is call your funeral director and let him or her handle everything, beginning with the initial removal of the body from the place of death. To the fullest extent possible we encourage you to contact the funeral home you plan to use and at least discuss your options and set up a file. If you're comfortable doing so, you should consider making arrangements for yourself and/or loved ones. It’s not as difficult as you might think and anything done in advance is just that much that someone will not have to do later (and guess at what you would want). Depending on your circumstances you may also want to ask about locking in prices at today’s level since prices will undoubtedly continue to increase in the future. This will not only save you money, it will quite possibly prevent emotional overspending later. This will also relieve your family of having to deal with the financial responsibility of your death — it will be “taken care of’. This booklet is intended as a public service and it is not our intent to alter the relationship you may have with another funeral home or mortuary; however, we would welcome the opportunity to visit with you about any of the above information.