05/18/2026
A few months ago I saw a colleague post about funeral home etiquette regarding privacy for the family we are serving. I was so happy to see this post because it is something every funeral home experiences on almost every funeral. Our funeral home, like many others, provides private family time for the immediate family to visit their loved one before the public visitation. However, many times other visitors follow the family directly into the funeral home before public visitation starts. We are also very firm on our stance that the immediate family have the honor and respect of seeing their loved one before others. We aren’t aware of who the family has asked to join them during this private time so it is difficult for us to remedy the situation without coming across as bouncers. The most immediate family is also given private time after all others have had the chance to say their final goodbyes after a funeral service, but again, visitors tend to stay in the funeral home to visit with each other after final leave.
So here are the questions (and please weigh in because maybe the things that are very important to us aren’t as big of a deal to families) - if you are someone that just lost your spouse, parent, or child, would you be okay if others saw your loved one before you did? Do you want the private time with your loved one before others come in to offer their condolences? Do you want a big group of people around you as you spend the final moments with one of the most important people in your life or would you like those last moments to be more intimate?
We always want the visitation and funeral to be exactly what a family needs and wants. At a time when a family is already asked to make 150+ plus decisions during arrangements, do we burden them with asking how they feel about the above issue? Let me know!
