Examining Contemporary Styles of Funeral Services
The funeral services industry is rapidly changing with the changes in people’s mindset about the dead and the proper way to show the last respects to loved ones. The growing demand for funeral services has also increased the number of funeral homes in one region and the rise of unique funeral services as funeral homes compete to gain a competitive advantage. Wilcox Funeral Home is among the funeral homes that have gained widespread recognition in the United States. The funeral home is headed by George Wilcox, the CEO and owner. George Wilcox is experienced in funeral services and uses his experience to improve Wilcox Funeral Home’s services continuously. He graduated in 1936 from the Gupton-Jones School of Embalming in Nashville. He began working in the funeral services sector at Woodall Funeral Home in Carthage before being renamed White & Wright Funeral Home. He then purchased part of White & Wright Funeral Home and became the funeral home’s sole owner. George Wilcox also served as the President and member of the Mississippi State Board of Embalming. In 1993, he served as the Mississippi Funeral Directors’ Association president. Hire our assignment writing services in case your assignment is devastating you.
The Current Trends in Funeral Service and What Leading Professionals See For the Future of the Profession
One of the trends in funeral services is cremation. People are embracing cremation over burial due to its low cost, the emphasis on greener alternatives to burial, limited space in cemeteries, and the flexible options for final body disposition (Pott, 2017). The current COVID-19 pandemic has increased the popularity of cremation because medical practitioners recommended cremation to avoid the spread of the pandemic from dead bodies, especially if an individual died due to COVID-19. The second trend is memorial services and life celebration ceremonies. People are embracing the idea of death as a celebration of a life well-lived. This has personalized funerals with memorable events, special music, clothing, and videos. The most common unique events include balloon and dove releases and fireworks. The third trend is community memorial gardens. There is a rising need to give the dead an honorable and beautiful resting place, hence the emphasis on creating community memorial gardens where families can pay their respects to their loved ones (Craven Funeral Directors, 2022). The gardens are often decorated with beautiful landscaping to create a feeling of peace, thus assuring the grieving families that their loved ones are resting in place.
The fourth trend is online grief support. Grief counselors have created online support channels to help family members and friends ‘ loved ones manage their grief through counseling and other support materials such as music and podcasts. The fifth trend is the move from traditional final resting places. According to John P. Donohue Funeral Home (2014), burials are becoming more expensive, and funeral homes run out of space, prompting people to look for alternative grounds to bury their loved ones. The most common alternative to traditional final resting places is community columbaria and mausoleums, scattering ashes in oceans, seas, and gardens.
Another recent trend is pre-planning. Planning a burial is among the most hectic yet essential things to do after the death of a loved one. The planning process includes a mixture of emotions, such as denial and grief. In most cases, it may create conflict among the deceased’s family, especially if they disagree on essential things such as the budget for the burial, the final resting place, and the program to be followed on the day of the grave. John P. Donohue Funeral Home (2014) argues that pre-planning burial has also changed because young people want more control over their celebrations, memorials, and funerals. Therefore, pre-planning is becoming a common trend to save money and make it easier for families to complete the burial process without conflicts.
Leading professionals predict the future of the funeral service profession will be more complex as people opt for personalized send-offs for their loved ones. For instance, professionals predict an increase in themed funerals. The main characteristic of themed funerals is showing the kind of person the deceased was by telling their story through photographs and a specific dress code. Professionals also predict an increase in environmentally friendly funerals. This practice includes burying loved ones in woodlands or fields designed explicitly for burial and using coffins made of biodegradable, natural materials such as willow, wicker, and cardboard (Szczesniak, 2021).
However, this trend may take time before gaining popularity because the lands set aside to bury the dead are often not marked, and mourners cannot locate where they buried their loved ones. Professionals also predict the rise in the use of technology in funeral services. The COVID-19 pandemic changed how people held essential occasions such as burials by limiting the number of people who could attend burial ceremonies. This made people turn to technology to allow those who could not participate in the tombs physically to follow the event online. The trend is gradually gaining popularity as people, especially the youth, post burial events on social media platforms to give people a chance to comment and say goodbye.
Wilcox Funeral Home has embraced various trends, such as online grief support, themed funerals, cremation services, and pre-planning. Wilcox Funeral Home categorizes its aftercare grief support into Sesame Street’s When Families Grieve, which includes interactive activities and educational content to support children undergoing grief, center for loss and transition, which provides inspiration and information in the areas of death and illness, suffering, and loss, life transition, healthy caregiving and spirituality, national hospice and palliative care organization. It is committed to improving end-of-life care and enhancing access to hospice care to improve the quality of life of people dying and their loved ones.
Further, GriefPlan.com includes newsletters, resources, videos, and online grief support. The funeral home also supports themed funerals by respecting the family’s wishes on the type of service they want, including instructions on the dress code. The funeral home’s pre-planning services include a checklist that people can check based on their comfort zone. The pre-planning form can be accessed online and is password protected to enable individuals to start and end the pre-planning arrangements in privacy and send it to the funeral home when they are delighted. Cremation services are also offered upon the family’s request, and families are free to use traditional burial services.
Conclusion
The future of funeral services will be dictated by changes in people’s level of civilization, technology, and the exchange of cultures worldwide. Therefore, funeral homes must stay updated on common trends that could change their operations, such as the rising demand for cremation services. Funeral homes also need to constantly review changes in customer preferences based on the predictions made by leading funeral service professionals. Updating services based on changes in customer preferences helps funeral homes attract clients but also helps maintain existing clients.
References
Craven Funeral Directors. (2022). The changing trends in funerals. Craven Funeral Directors | Funeral Director Merseyside, Cheshire, Liverpool. https://www.cravens-funerals.com/the-changing-trends-in-funerals/
John P. Donohue. (2014). Ten latest trends in funeral planning. John P. Donohue Funeral Home. https://www.funeralhome-philadelphia.com/10-latest-trends-funeral-planning/
Pott, L. (2017). Funeral trends that are changing death rituals. AARP. https://www.aarp.org/home-family/friends-family/info-2017/funeral-ceremony-trends-fd.html
Szczesniak, D. (2021). 2021 Funeral trends: Life celebrations when the world is upside-down. » Urns | Online. https://www.usurnsonline.com/creative-ideas/funeral-trends/
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Question
Reach out to a funeral home owner, manager, or licensed professional and inquire about how the funeral home works to remain current with trends in the profession. This should include merchandise offerings, facility layout and services, arrangement of conference structure, and technology, including social media campaigns and community outreach. Note: The funeral home must not be in your local area. You may call or visit a funeral home in another room.

Examining Forensic Data
Research, using mortuary journals, funeral service organizations’ websites, and newspapers, the current trends in funeral service and what leading professionals see for the profession’s future. Compare and contrast how the funeral home you targeted matches up with the research you conducted.
Write a four-page, typed, double-spaced paper summarizing the in-depth discussion with the funeral home professional and the scholarly research conducted. Your report should include a short biography of the person you interviewed for this assignment. Be sure to cite all references used within your essay. The font used should be Calibri, size 11. You may use either MLA or APA format, but only one should be used throughout. (50 points)
Prepare a 5-7 minute professional presentation for your classmates. This should be a summary of your submitted paper and must include at least three visual aids. You are free to choose the aid, for example: Recorded interview, PowerPoint, brochures, etc. (50 points)