Final Wishes Made Known

There is one topic that was rarely mentioned on The Andy Griffith Show. Death. Aunt Bee became very distressed one day when an acquaintance her age passed away. Then there was the time undertaker Orville Monroe backed his hearse up to the courthouse door because he had heard Barney had shot himself in the chest. In The Haunted House episode, Barney and Gomer talked about the legend of Old Man Rimshaw killing his hired hand with an ax. However, in real life, death is the one thing no one can escape.

My wife and I recently did something that we have been putting off for a very long time. We finally made all our funeral plans and prepaid everything. As it turned out, it wasn't the unpleasant experience we expected it to be. In some ways, it was enjoyable. It meant several visits with our estate attorney and three meetings with a funeral senior preneed specialist, who just happened to be my wife's former employer and friend.

Not having any children meant that Linda and I needed to preplan our final wishes. We did not want to burden any family members or friends with such a personal task.

Our final arrangements include a traditional funeral service at our church. We were both amazed at all the small details we had to make decisions about. It makes me wonder how people deal with it when there is a sudden death with no arrangements made beforehand. It would make a very stressful and difficult time even more stressful and difficult. While our final arrangements may seem relatively simple, they have not always been so in the past.

Funeral customs have evolved over the years, with many of the traditions now largely obsolete. At one time in America, it was a common practice upon death to hang black bunting and wreaths on various objects around the house. If a person died in their home, the body was removed from the house feet first to prevent them from beckoning others to follow. It was also a common practice to keep the body at home until the time of the funeral. Mirrors were quite often covered until after the funeral to prevent an image of the corpse from being captured in the glass.

Fortunately, these practices are now a thing of the past, and my wife and I can be assured that our final wishes will be carried out as planned. Now, if you pardon my pun, this topic will now be laid to rest.

G UEST