Who Should Be Your Pallbearers?
There are more people contacting funeral homes in Shakopee, MN today to plan their own final services. This is a very nice idea for the sake of your family. They know just what you want, and they don’t have to worry about guessing or planning anything when you pass away—no matter how far into the future that might be. If you decide you want to have a traditional funeral with a visitation, a service, and a burial, you might like to have pallbearers for your casket. Who should you choose? Here are some tips to help you decide:
Tip 1: Decide On A Number
The first thing you need to figure out is how many pallbearers you will need. It’s better to have too many than too few. Most families have 6-8. If you want more than that, you probably won’t need them to help with the casket, but you can assign as many honorary pallbearers as you’d like. Pallbearers are people you want to honor because of your relationship with them. They don’t always have to carry the casket, if they are too young or are unable.
Tip 2: Consider Close Connections
You don’t want your pallbearers to be random people, though there’s nothing wrong with using people the funeral home provides, if you’d like. Consider your grandchildren, close friends, cousins, neighbors, and so on. It can be hard to predict what age you will be when you pass on so you may not be sure who to choose. If you want your brother, for example, who is close in age to you, he may die before you or be too old to carry your casket when your time comes. You might want to list more people than you need in order of importance. If the first few aren’t available, the person in charge can move down the list. If those that are first are available, the others can be honorary.
Tip 3: Consider Emotions
Being a pallbearer doesn’t have to be physically demanding since it only lasts a little while and there’s lots of help, but it can be emotional. If you think certain people will be too emotional to fulfill the role, make them honorary or give them a different job entirely. You don’t want your spouse, for example, to be a pallbearer. It would be too hard for their emotions. There are plenty of other people in your life to exclude for those reasons.
Choosing pallbearers for your own funeral can be difficult, but you don’t have to plan that part, if you don’t want to. When you work with funeral homes in Shakopee, MN on your own final services, you can plan as much or as little as you’d like in advance and leave the rest up to family. Talk to those closest to you so everyone is on the same page about what you’ve planned out. You can contact the specialists at Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation by calling (952) 447-2633 or visiting our funeral director at 4565 Pleasant St SE Prior Lake, MN 55372.
