Our number one priority at Shirley Funeral Home is to provide you with sound advice and personal service at a time when decisions are hard to make. We know and understand how difficult it is for you to plan the funeral during such an emotional time, so we make every effort to fulfill all necessary arrangements with a courteous ear and knowledgeable experience that you can trust. We go one step further, by providing you and your family with the support you need at a time you deserve it most.

You would not normally be prepared for planning a funeral, so we offer the following information to familiarize you with our services. Following is a short list of information and items we will need for you to provide for us:

• A requested time for the service and visitation hours (our normal hours for visitation
  are 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. but hours are flexed to fit the families needs).
• A burial site, the clergyman or speaker and a list of pallbearers.
• Clothing, jewelry and glasses of the deceased.
• A recent photograph of the deceased.

Upon meeting with you we will:

• Secure the vital statistics of the deceased, obtain the obituary information and arrange the time of the service and the music.
• Assist you in selecting the type of service (traditional burial or cremation).
• Assist you in selecting a clergyman or speaker and pall-bearers.
• Assist you in choosing a cemetery if you have not already done so.
• Help you select a casket and burial vault from our casket rooms. We feel it is very important to be able to see in detail the casket your loved one will be placed into, therefore unlike other funeral homes, we have maintained the tradition of a casket room.

After your choices have been made, we will continue our service by:

• Coordinating the schedules of the clergyman and cemetery to co-inside with the service and burial.
• Obtaining the burial vault and casket.
• Obtaining the Death Certificate from the examiner.
• Completing the Death Certificate.
• Filing the Death Certificate with the municipality and obtaining the Burial Permit.
• Ordering the copies of the Death Certificate.
• Providing obituary information to the requested newspapers.
• Completing and delivering Social Security, and/or Veterans Benefits claim forms.
• Filing necessary paperwork for Life Insurance policies.
• Preparing the memorial folders, prayer and acknowledgement cards and thank you cards.
• Providing the memorial book for your use.
• Receiving, on your behalf, the flowers and other contributions.
• Arranging the flowers.
• Assisting you in preparing the procession of cars to the cemetery.
• Professionally preparing the deceased as requested or required by law (this includes embalming*, washing, disinfecting, dressing, cosmetizing or restoring and hairdressing).
• Overseeing all aspects of the calling hours and committal services (this may include fraternal or military ceremonies).

By providing this information we hope you will gain insight, and possibly comfort in knowing what is expected of you, and what will happen next. We are committed to serving you in a respectable manner and will do all we can to accommodate your funeral needs. Please feel free to confide in us before, during and even after the funeral. We wish to make the transition as easy as possible for you.

If you require further information or have questions that were not addressed here, please contact us at your earliest convenience.

*Embalming is only required by law in certain instances, but it is necessary to embalm if you choose to have a funeral with a viewing. It you choose not to embalm, you will want to have us assist you in making arrangements for immediate burial. Our policy is to embalm, unless otherwise informed before obtaining the body of the deceased. At our discretion only, will a non-embalmed body be permitted in our funeral home and for a period not to exceed 24 hours from the time of death.