(Metro Creative Services)

Death is inevitable. It is something everyone will have to face and it’s something that’s not usually brought up at a dinner party or holiday gathering — but, in the end, someone has to take responsibility and make important decisions.

Pre-planning is a way to take the burden off loved ones and make the grieving process a little easier during their dark days.

Canon Cart grew up around the funeral home business. His grandfather worked at Johnson Funeral Home and he would stay with him often during school breaks. Cart is now the advanced funeral planner at the funeral home.

“One question I tend to ask every family that comes in to pre-plan is, ‘What is the most important reason you’re doing this today,’ and 99 percent of the time they say back, ‘I do not want to burden my loved ones with making these arrangements’,” Cart said.

Cart said planning a funeral involves huge decisions and finite details — and often those decisions need to be made within a 36-hour window.

“Imagine making all of those decisions at the time of need, on the worst day of your life, when you’ve just lost a loved one. You can imagine it’s pretty overwhelming, especially if it’s not something you were prepared for,” he said. “Trying to make meaningful plans and also incorporating everyone into those plans can be difficult and there’s one person who can probably make those plans the most meaningful for that family — probably the person themselves.”

Cart said he understands how uncomfortable it is to talk about one’s end of life.

“I think many people get intimidated whenever it comes down to talking about themselves because it makes it real, makes them realize we’re not invincible to death.” But, he said, at the end of the day the services are not for the deceased, they are for the living.

There’s a lot of information needed when it comes to a death certificate — including the full legal names of one’s parents, birth certificate, education level and more. “Many people don’t realize what all is needed for a death certificate, they’re shocked and it is a lot. It also helps with writing the obituary, as well,” he said.

For veterans, they also need a DD Form 214 for the presentation of the casket flag and the playing of taps.

Service details are the next item on the list to be discussed. Those include things such as open casket or closed, rosary or not, two-day traditional service with a wake or funeral and visitation on the same day, casket spray and flowers, possible Bible verses to be read, and hymns or songs to be played at the service.

“Sometimes families are spread out and everyone is not in Southwest Louisiana, so we also have to acknowledge how many people will be attending the service. If having a service all in one day, how would a mid-day service affect people being able to attend, giving folks an ample opportunity to pay their respects for the family. There’s a lot of details that goes into it that people don’t always think of,” he said.

Pallbearers are also discussed. Usually there are six to eight required and sometimes that takes people aback because they’re not sure who that would be. Then the topic moves to presentation — how the deceased would want to be dressed.

“Some people want to be buried in a suit, while others might want to be buried in a gown, personal articles like wedding rings, rosaries, or if you were in a fraternity, pins possible on your lapel are discussed,” he explained.

Cost is also a factor when deciding whether or not to pre-plan. With pre-planning, the current cost of the funeral is locked in.

“By being able to secure today’s prices, this is the cheapest that funeral services will ever be, ever, the same thing goes for everything else,” Cart said.

Cart said obituaries are often the hardest discussion because most people are not comfortable writing their own.

Following the obituary discussion, specific selections such as a casket or urn, personalizations, memorial packages, stationary, prayers cards, thank you cards, photos, slideshows, possible streaming services and more are addressed.

“I always tell families to be very conversational about talking about your final wishes. Many conversations always come up after attending someone else’s and if you bring it up, you’ll be surprised how many people have actually thought about it and have ideas on what they want,” he said. “I always explain to people as they’re sitting here pre-planning how in this environment this decision is 10 times easier than it would be for anybody else. If your kids have to come here and choose from 20 different caskets they’re going to have a way harder time than you’re having right now, so keep that in mind as we discuss these things.”

He said it’s also important to expose younger family members to the funeral service.

“I think it’s so important that this generation needs to understand and be able to experience it that way they understand what has happened,” he said.