Funeral arrangements are one of the cremation services offered in Sterling Heights, MI. Usually within a day or two of the death of your loved one, you will have a meeting with the funeral director at the funeral home where your loved one was taken after they died.

This meeting will be to discuss and decide on funeral arrangements for your loved one. The funeral director will help you and your family with all the details of these arrangements, and will take of executing your wishes after the meeting.

However, there are things that you will need to bring with you to the meeting at the funeral home, so that nothing keeps the funeral director and the funeral home from serving all your needs after the death of your loved one.

One that you’ll need to bring are clothes. No matter whether your loved one is going to be cremated before a memorial service is held for them or they are going to be cremated after a viewing/visitation and funeral service, they will need to be dressed.

If your loved one was a man, be sure to bring a shirt, undergarments, pants, jacket, and tie (if you want). Shoes are not necessary, since the feet will be covered even in a viewing, but many people bring socks.

For women, bring the outfit they wanted to buried in (women tend to pick these out before they die) and undergarments. Again, shoes are not necessary, but many people pay tribute to the memory of people’s tendency toward having cold feet, so they bring socks.

If your loved one wore glasses or a wedding ring, you can bring those as well. They will be returned to you before your loved one is cremated.

You should also bring a picture of your loved one for the memorial or funeral service program and for the obituary. This can be an old picture, such as a high school or college picture, or it can be a recent or current picture.

The funeral director will need biographical information for the death certificate that will be registered with the state and for the obituary (if they are composing it). This information includes your loved one’s Social Security number, date of birth, city of birth, wedding date, parents’ full names and places of birth, siblings’ (and spouses’) names, children’s (and spouses’) names, and profession.

If the funeral home is composing the obituary, they will also need a biography of your loved one that highlights the accomplishments (personal and professional) of their life.

Military veterans are entitled to funeral benefits that include free inurnment in national cemeteries, free grave markers, and funeral honors (usually performed by local military reserve units or veteran’s volunteer groups). To receive these benefits, you’ll need to give the funeral director a copy (not the original) of your loved one’s military discharge orders (Form DD-214). The funeral director will coordinate all the arrangements with the local Department of Veterans Affairs.

If your loved one has funeral insurance and/or life insurance, you should bring copies of those policies to this meeting with the funeral director. Funeral insurance is a separate insurance policy that is specifically designated to cover your loved one’s final expenses.

For more information about cremation services in Sterling Heights, MI, our caring and knowledgeable staff at Lee-Ellena Funeral is here to assist you. You can visit our funeral home at 46530 Romeo Plank Rd., Macomb, MI 48044, or you can call us today at (586) 412-8999.