Page A8 October 2022 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A By Linda Findlay Aftercare care?” The average person has no idea what Aftercare is. If you look up the definition of “aftercare” online, you are more likely to see websites about aftercare for tattoos. In addition to all of this, and maybe even more importantly, you all are so busy. Each day can start out one way, only to quickly go in a completely different direction! When I schedule calls with my funeral directors I always tell them that if they need to cancel and reschedule, I understand, and it is perfectly fine to do so. I don’t just say that to be kind and accommodating! I say it because I truly understand. There are only so many hours in the day. Taking care of the at time of need calls has to be the priority. So, let’s dig deeper about return on investment. I have shared many stories in these articles about the positive feedback I get from the families that I follow up with through my funeral homes. The Aftercare that I provide has always been well received. There are times when someone will call and tell us to stop sending mailings, but very few of these requests are made because somebody is mad about what we are doing. In over 30 years, I can count on one hand how often somebody was actually angry! The main reason families request us to stop sending mailings is that they feel they are okay and don’t need anything. For the most part, requests to cancel are few and far between in comparison to the large numbers of mailings I send out monthly. Return on investment with Aftercare is very difficult to measure, since your efforts may not produce immediate results. A family could come to your funeral home because of the Aftercare you provided years prior, or even because of the Aftercare you provided to someone else. There have been many times I worked with a family and they called me some time later asking if I could follow up with a friend who did not get help from their funeral home. Maybe that friend will make a different choice next time they have a need – but it can’t be easily measured, unless the family specifically tells the funeral home how their choice was made. In my many years of experience, providing some form of Aftercare to tens of thousands of families, I can honestly say, “You can’t put a price tag on helping with human suffering.” Feeling grief is human suffering, and can be the ultimate suffering in a person’s lifetime! The thing that makes all the difference in the world to someone who is suffering is having somebody to walk with them in support and understanding. We can’t ease the suffering or make it stop, but we can be there – through Aftercare, we can be there! I can assure you, Aftercare absolutely makes a difference in a human being’s life. If I look at return on investment in terms of making an actual difference in people’s lives, Aftercare is priceless! In addition, the alternative – no Aftercare – results in no return on investment at all! I am often asked about what the return on investment is by providing Aftercare. I understand the question and its importance when a business spends money. Especially today, everything is so expensive. There are times that we must decide what is really needed in business and how we can pare down on something or provide less of something, in order to not raise our prices. When it comes to Aftercare, I know that for some funeral homes, it is considered something extra! I do believe that funeral directors know Aftercare is important. I believe that they truly recognize the difficulty of grief. I find that funeral directors do not provide Aftercare for a variety of reasons. One is cost. Along with that, it is my opinion that providing support for grieving families, after they are taken care of at the time of need, is thought of as not being in their wheelhouse for a funeral director. I have had many conversations through the years with funeral directors who share with me that they are just not comfortable with their skill level to provide proper grief support after the funeral. They do not want to do more harm than good. Some feel that they don’t have quality resources or ways to get the information to families down the road and in a consistent manner. Many hope that families will find the resources in the community through a hospice or faith-based organization. I look at many funeral home websites. Many of them include local and national resources, which I guess is better than nothing. Some list that they do provide Aftercare, but I am not sure what exactly is provided, because it is not stated. If a family doesn’t know what is available, we can be sure that they will not call the funeral home and ask, “What do you have for After- Linda Findlay is the founder of Mourning Discoveries, Grief Support Services. She is a 29-year career Aftercare Coordinator, a published author, and an advocate for bereaved families. She is the founder and co-creator of The Grief Cruises and managing partner with The International Grief Institute. Linda can be reached at 315-725-6132 or Lf6643@yahoo.com. Visit www.mourningdiscoveries.com, www.thegriefcruises.com or www.internationalgriefinstitute.com. F U N E R A L H O M E & C E M E T E R Y N E W S w w w . N o m i s P u b l i c a t i o n s . c o m Monthly Columnsonline at Cost of Aftercare Return on Investment Scan QR for our website 1-888-792-9315 • mymortuarycooler.com Mortuary Coolers starting at $5,899 Custom Statues Bronze or Marble. Delivery in 120 days. One-of-a-kind sculptures. Starting at $9,500. Contact Gregory Cave caveco33@aol.com 516-456-3663 or visit www.statuemaker.us R&S MARKERS FREE Sample Upon Request CREATE CUSTOM TEMPORARY GRAVE MARKERS FOR AS LOW AS $4.95 EACH PHONE: 561 .963.4732 EMAIL: INFO@RSMARKERS.COM WWW.RSMARKERS.COM Professional Car Society Meets in Sturbridge Story and Photos by Gregg D. Merksamer Cincinnati-built 1930 Sayers & Scovill Washington Funeral Coach owned by Ted & Angeline Collins of Wilkes-Barre, PA was the oldest entrant. Competition from low-cost coachbuilders compelled Henney Motor Co to introduce its 1952 Clipper-based, 127-inch-wheelbase, Henney Junior. Owned by Pasquale Turano of Worcester, MA, remnants of USAF blue inside its left rear fender imply this was one of 256 ordered by the Department of Defense. Fords are a relative rarity at PCSMeets, so this 1963 Country Sedan fitted with a fiberglass raised roof and hearse door by the Whitehouse, OH-based Shop of Siebert was a big attention-getter. According to owner, Kevin M. Lyons, it was built new for his grandfather, Clarence R. Lyons, and originally delivered by the local Danvers, MA Ford dealer. Pillar-less side door openings with a 3-way casket table was a standout feature on this 1964 S&S Cadillac Victoria shown by Paul A. Phaneuf. He’d bought the car sight unseen from an Orange, CA funeral home owner – one condition of the sale is that he couldn’t change the color. Continued on page A10 STURBRIDGE,MA— Given its origins and long-time significance as a Native American and Colonial era crossroads still frequented today by motorists plying the Massachusetts Turnpike, Interstate 84 and historic U.S. Owned for nearly 30 years by David Dufresne of Cohoes, NY, this 1968 S & S Cadillac flower car features a stainless steel deck could be electrically sloped or left in the horizontal position so a casket could be accommodated after the rear boot was pivoted upward to clear the rear loading door. through Saturday, July 2, 2022. Newly re-elected PCS President Paul Steinberg – a Southbridge, MA denizen 20, the Pioneer Valley town of Sturbridge, MA certainly proved a fitting place for the Professional Car Society to stage its 45th International Meet fromMonday, June 27 SEND US YOUR NEWS! PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 1-800-321-7479 info@nomispublications.com
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