From time to time, families ask us, “Is a funeral necessary?  My loved one is gone, and they are not going to know if we have a service or not.  Does it really matter?”

At Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, we do all we can to provide multiple funeral service options to meet the needs and expectations of the families we serve, and we will never negate your power of choice.

Subsequently, we answer that question based on our years of impeccable after-death care to the families of Flemington.

We have learned that ceremonies, rituals, and traditions are truly important to our society.  They serve as markers and milestones in our lives and provide us with meaningful opportunities to gather together as friends, family, acquaintances, and community.

Take, for example, graduations–be it grade school, high school, or college–graduations symbolically mark a person’s life progression and achievements.  Weddings, anniversaries, retirement parties, parades, the Super Bowl, and the Olympics, for example, are all ceremonial opportunities to come together for a shared experience where we can celebrate, bond with one another, encourage one another, and express our pride.

The same can be said of funeral services.  Funeral rites are as old as human culture itself, and funeral ceremonies are a part of every society worldwide.  Rich in history and symbolism, funeral traditions have helped us to acknowledge the death of our loved ones for thousands of years. They provide a place where happier memories are shared, family stories and history can be told, and where pride in our heritage is celebrated.  They encourage a healthy expression of our grief in a way that is consistent with cultural values, and multiple studies have shown that the journey of grief is best mitigated when we take the time to give and gain support from other mourners.  As we embrace our faith and beliefs and offer comfort and hope to one another for our future, the feelings of grief become less overwhelming.

Yes—funerals do matter.  They are our society’s ceremonial way of meeting the needs of the grieving while acknowledging and celebrating the life of one who has journeyed through our world.