Lowmans Arizona Funeral Home

Family of Dollars First?

(By Ingried Lowman)

Greetings fellow Villagers and Happy Fall to each and every one of you.  It’s hard to believe that the fall season is already upon us, though the temperatures still feel like that of summer.  Still, we in Arizona are quite blessed that we have not had to deal with the disasters that so many other parts of our country and families have had the challenges of dealing with.  We are truly blessed.

Again, the funeral industry has been in the news with the tragedy of a crematory that was operating without integrity, stacking human remains in vehicles and what not, because they just “got so busy that they couldn’t keep up”.  This specific crematory solicited our business on several occasions, trying to convince us that, using them would be a smart financial decision as we could save $50 per case.  Bill and I were consistent with our answer stating that “if it’s not broken, we don’t need to change or ‘fix it’”.  Many funeral homes made the change.  We’re quite certain that if it wasn’t for our constant seeking of God’s guidance and our philosophy, we may have looked at the dollar signs and concluded that this would be a good financial decision.  Thankfully, we learned that, once again, money isn’t everything and sometimes saving a few dollars can cost you more than you want to pay.  It reminds me of what one of our pastors once told our congregation; “Sin will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”  What great words of wisdom to live and work by.

We mourn and pray for the families that this ‘situation’ has affected and pray for those in our industry to always put families, not dollars, first.  We believe that if the family always comes first, God will take care of the rest.  When one looses a loved one and chooses a funeral home, we believe that it is up to the funeral home to guide the family through this extremely difficult time, ensuring that their loved one will be treated with the utmost respect.  Whether it is cremation or burial that the family has chosen, our job is to ensure that integrity goes into every facet of our caring for the human remains and family, assisting and guiding them through the entire process, helping them to make good sound decisions that they can live with and feel good about.  This includes financial decisions.  Sure, every funeral home would love to sell $4,000 to $6, 000 caskets with every funeral arrangement they make.  However, is this in the best interest of the family?  Is the family going to have the funds to go on with their lives and care for their family?  Will this funeral put them in financial debt?  Is this what their loved one would have wanted?  Will God receive them better in heaven if it costs more?  We think “NOT”.  After all, did Jesus die a wealthy man?  For those of us that know the story, He was not financially wealthy, but He was, and is, richer than any human being can imagine.

We have seen a definitive increase in families making pre-arrangements.  This ensures that their funeral reflects what they want, keeping their arrangements within a budget that they feel good about.  This prevents their loved ones from being left with the burden of so many decisions.  When someone is grieving the loss of their loved one, emotions are running high and this can sometimes create a situation where one spends more than they need or want to.  That is why communicating with your family on this issue of dying, is so important.  Does your family know your wishes?

I had the privilege of speaking at an Edward Jones event here recently, hosted by a delightful Julie Gunn, at the Arizona Animal Shelter – Campus of Compassion.  I asked four questions to start.  The first being; “How many of you have health Insurance?”  Every ones hand went up.  “How many of you have automobile Insurance?”  Again, every hand went up.  “How many of you have homeowners Insurance?” Once again, every hand went up.  I got to my forth question; “How many of you have funeral Insurance?”  Only one was able to raise their hand.

I made the point that we have health Insurance “just in case” we get sick.  We have automobile Insurance “just in case” we get into a car accident.  We have homeowners Insurance “just in case” damage is done to our home, (hail anyone?!?).  Just think about the money we all spend on the “just in case” things!!  But the only two sure things in life are “taxes” and “death”.  Why do so many of us fail to plan for what is so certain?  We encourage you to think about it.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this article.  We look forward to seeing all of our Pioneers at the 37^th Annual Pioneer Luncheon on November 6^th.  As always, Bill and Ingried Lowman are available 24/7, at (602) 276-3601, toll free (877) 276-3601, fax (602) 276-1889, or lowmansarizonafuneralhome.com.