Funeral services, ceremonies & memories, Swan Hill

The Ceremony

Remembering and honouring a life and delivering a final farewell – funeral services provide the opportunity to celebrate the life of a loved one and a chance for family, friends and colleagues to recall and reminisce and to grieve and begin the healing process. Swan Hill & District Funerals understands the importance of funeral services and the ritual that allows the family and friends of the deceased to begin the next phase of  their own lives.

The role of role of funeral directors in this process is one, simply, of service. To be available before, during and after the funeral. Before to advise on the funeral arrangements necessary. During to make the necessary arrangements. And afterwards to provide, if appropriate, back-up support by way of counselling and bereavement support.

The funeral director is a partner in the death experience. Close enough to know what it is about. Far enough away to know that grief is an intensely personal emotion for which those affected need space and time. The professional funeral director will not attempt to do anything beyond meeting the needs and expectations of those being served.

At the same time, the funeral director is available to accept as much responsibility as required to ensure that individual and community needs and expectations are honoured.

Before we see you

When a death occurs the staff at our Swan Hill funeral home will liaise with the appropriate services and moved your loved one into the care of our funeral home. We will then arrange to meet and discuss funeral arrangements with family members or appointed representatives.

The funeral arrangements

Swan Hill & District Funerals can help families plan a ceremony for a loved one and ensure the funeral arrangements proceed in line with the family’s plans or the plans of the deceased if they had a pre-arranged funeral.

 Flowers

Flowers are more than just an attractive visual element of a funeral – they demonstrate and reflect the cycle of life and are a symbol to the beauty but fragility of our lives. Accordingly, Swan Hill & District Funerals has its own dedicated florist, Francis Florist, to ensure floral tributes suit and reflect the nature of the funeral service. We ensure Francis Florist is abreast of all funeral services in Swan Hill district and we would recommend people take advantage of this unique arrangement. We will receive, handle and arrange floral tributes at the church, chapel or other location of the funeral service and also at the cemetery or crematorium.

Visual Presentation

Audio visual presentations have gained popularity as advances in technology have made it easier to organise video and audio presentations at funeral services in Swan Hill. Staff at our funeral home are proficient in producing DVDs for audio visual and music presentations. Please contact Swan Hill & District Funerals to discuss tasteful and appropriate visual presentation

Candles

Candles have a historic and ritualistic role at funeral services and in funeral parlours, not just in Swan Hill but across the world. The very word “funeral” has its origins in the Latin language in which “funus” has associations with the word “torch”.  Torches were part of early Roman funerals, supposedly to help the dead find their way through darkness on the way to eternal light, and firelight has had a role in most cultures’ funeral services throughout history.

Candles continue to figure prominently in many funeral arrangements and services, so please talk to the funeral directors at Swan Hill & District Funerals about your expectations for candles at funeral services and we will make sure your wishes are part of the funeral arrangements.

Coffins

Swan Hill @ District Funerals has a beautiful Murray River scene to decorate coffins or caskets.

At Swan Hill & District Funerals we have the traditional range of coffins & caskets; in addition we now also offer a range of lifestyle coffins available locally which can be personalised with a range of styles, materials and colours to suit most tastes and wishes. To view a range of personalised Eco-Coffin’s visit the website www.lifestylecoffins.com.au

For those who want their funeral service to incorporate Swan Hill’s natural beauty we have a tranquil photograph of the Murray River from acclaimed photographer Allistair Blackman which can decorate a coffin or casket. To discuss your wishes and choice of coffin or casket, please contact Swan Hill & District Funerals.

Memories

People love to delve into the history of their family to try and reconstruct the family tree. Great-great-grandfather came out from England in 1857, how far back can we trace our family heritage? For some this pursuit can be a lifetime’s work.

Most of the information about our family history comes from records relating to births, deaths and marriages. As funeral directors, when we register a death with the Government Statist, the information we provide must be accurate. Many families are unaware of the exact information required for this registration.

As well as the full name, date and place of birth of the deceased, we must also provide details of any marriages the person has had, where they were married and how old they were when the marriage took place. Any children from the marriage together with their ages must also be recorded. We must also note the deceased person’s parents’ details, i.e. father’s full name and occupation, mother’s full name, maiden name and occupation. Not only is this information required by law, it provides for a very important historical record.

If you would like to record this important information for your family, you can download a free Personal Profile or collect one from our Swan Hill funeral parlour or you can download our Your Goodbye document.For more information about Swan Hill & District Funerals’ services and ceremonies and how we can help with funeral arrangements, contact us at a time convenient to you.