Preparing for the Funeral: Common Items You Need to Provide the Funeral Home

By: Lauren Griffith

When beginning to organize the funeral of a loved one, there are some items you will need to prepare and provide for the funeral home.

While the funeral home you’re working with wants to help you along this process, they need a few initial items to get the process moving.

First and foremost, you’ll want to come prepared with clothing and accessories for your loved one to wear during their funeral service or cremation. Work together as a family to create an outfit you know your loved one would have appreciated and fits their style. 

If there are any additional personal items you’d like your loved one to have with them for the funeral or cremation, make sure to speak with the funeral home. 

You should also bring a high-quality photograph of your loved one that the funeral home can add to the online obituary on the funeral home website and possibly the local paper’s obituary if they are handling that as well. 

Regarding information, you will need to provide the funeral home with general information about your loved one. This includes but is not limited to their social security number, date of birth, city and state of birth, legal address, spouse’s name and wedding date (if applicable), parents’ full names and birthplaces, names of schools and employers and names of surviving relatives. 

Other important papers to bring to the funeral home include life insurance documents, cemetery paperwork, funeral prearrangement paperwork and documents, and military discharge papers.

In many cases, the funeral home can also organize and arrange a memory table and memorial video for your lost loved one to pay homage to them during or after the funeral. 

If you choose to have the funeral home assist you with a memory table or memorial video before the funeral, you will need to provide them with items for those. 

For the memory table, bring in your favorite framed photos of your loved one, any personal items that were extra special to them, photo albums, and other sentimental items. 

For the memorial video, be sure to have digital copies of any special photos of your loved one to send in. This can include family photos, high-quality photos of your loved one and pictures of them in all stages of their life. Provide them with the pictures and video clips, and they will take care of creating and editing the video. 

Funeral Homes want to make planning your loved one’s funeral as seamless as possible so you can grieve your loved one without worrying about the intricate details of funeral planning. Once you provide this critical information, the required documents, photos, personal items and anything else needed, the funeral home will take it from there. 

Stuhr Funeral Home, a trusted name in funeral service for more than 150 years, cares for families of those whose lives have ended. Stuhr Funeral Home is committed to providing quality arrangements to honor loved ones and family traditions. For more information about available funeral services, visit JHenryStuhr.com or call (843) 723-2524.