A time to mourn
Last year, funerals went from group gatherings filled with physical displays of sympathy to private affairs where nobody touched, in a transition that happened practically overnight.
The coronavirus pandemic put limits on the number of people allowed to gather in one place — and this also applied to funeral homes.
To comply with state guidelines, many funeral homes capped attendance for viewings and funerals at less than 10 people, a standard that lasted for months.
Late last year, these restrictions began loosening and funeral homes were able to allow more people into services, but still not at maximum capacity. But while funeral homes adjusted to new guidelines, many families also changed how they wanted to hold services, and were cooperative in shortening visitation hours and wearing masks while inside.
“We adjusted to mostly doing private family viewings following the state guidelines,” said John Hanovick, owner of McDonald-Aeberli Funeral Home in Mars. “Now, we're doing between 25 and 50. Most people were doing two hours of visitation with a small service. We required masks and social distancing and still do.”
According to Tom Martin, owner and director of Martin Funeral Home in Butler, the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association disseminates information from the governor's office regarding regulations on attendance capacity for funeral homes, and the number has shifted several times over the past year. While funeral homes have lately been able to open up for greater attendance, Martin said some clients have planned to have larger gatherings at a later date when they feel safe.When it comes to the amount of funerals, “the death rate remained the same and probably even increased,” he said. “We have had a number of (clients) where burial had taken place or cremation had taken place, and they were opting for spring or summer to finish the funeral. We still have some people that have never really completed their funeral wishes.”For people who lost loved ones later in the pandemic, the rescheduling has been a little more informed in regard to when a celebration of life can take place. For those who planned them early on, however, the postponed dates are mostly still in question because of the uncertainty of the duration of the pandemic and social distancing guidelines.“The later things have not happened at all,” said Keri Raisley, owner and supervisor of Raisley Funeral Home in Prospect. “You're able to postpone and, right now, a lot of people are aiming toward the one-year anniversary of death.”
The postponement of services offered families a later opportunity for gathering, but Martin said he believes it is difficult for family members of the deceased to return to their grief, so they may never actually reschedule services.“It's hard,” Martin said. “It's hard to wait for your grief. It's like the whole time you're waiting, your grief is still happening.”While funeral homes were not able to be at full capacity through the pandemic, clients have mostly been understanding and respectful of the limitations. Furthermore, people from out of state had already been discouraged from travel, and many did not want to cross state lines to attend a funeral. This situation led many funeral directors and their clients to fully embrace technology, and some started recording or streaming video of the service and visitation.Pat Boylan, owner of Boylan Funeral Home and Cremation Centers in Connoquenessing, believes streaming and capturing video will be normal at funerals and visitations from here on out.“It was really unheard of until this pandemic hit,” Boylan said. “Now, it seems to be getting more and more popular.”Raisley said she used to have visits and meetings with clients to not only plan the funeral for their loved one, but also to talk them through their grief and loss. However, since the pandemic began, she said she has been communicating through email more frequently for planning purposes, and saving the face-to-face time with clients until the day of the service.“To avoid face-to-face contact, we are using the internet and email more efficiently,” Raisley said.Using the Facetime or Zoom platforms to create the feeling of a full funeral may not be the same, but Martin said streaming has been a growing trend in the business for years, although clients had normally taken it upon themselves. Martin said he recently hired a videographer to create a video for clients to watch and share any time after the service has concluded.“I think there's definitely a place for that in funeral service,” Martin said. “This is another way to change and grow with what they need.”
Mark Hoffer, of Hoffer Video Productions, has been recording funerals for Martin Funeral Home since last year, and started livestreaming through his business as well. He streamed a service Friday morning, which garnered nearly 1,000 views from people in 30 states and six countries, which he said shows how popular and convenient this new method is for funerals.“That just shows how long-term this is going to be,” he said. “It has taken it from being a local funeral home thing to being watched nationwide.”This does not completely replace a full-fledged funeral, however, and Raisley said her clients have not been as comfortable with hugs or physical contact with others during services, and they also miss the ability to see everyone in person.“The hugs are not there, and no one is shaking hands,” Raisley said. “People have been appreciative at opening at whatever percent we're allowed, so I don't think we're losing the value, it's just on a smaller scale.”As restrictions loosen across the country, people have become slightly more comfortable with physical contact, especially in small family circles.“My families seem to be missing that opportunity for friends to see them and say goodbye,” Hanovick said. “It has loosened up now, people are shaking hands. We're huggers and hand-shakers and you want to be supportive, and we're trying to (do so) with masks on.”The future of funeral homes post-COVID-19 mimics the future of many other gathering places, and Martin said he believes virtual communication and hand sanitizer will become fixtures in funeral homes.“We always had hand sanitizer out,” Martin said. “Not this much, but I look for that to be a staple. When you enter a building, you're going to see it.”Hanovick said he has seen consistent business throughout the pandemic, just fewer people at services.Boylan noted that funeral homes will likely continue to adapt to meet clients' needs.“It's all new, and when the public gets used to it, it's going to affect our operations as far as people's requests,” Boylan said. “I think that's what we're going to have to look out for, and we're going to have to come up with everything to meet the public needs.”
