HANCOCK COUNTY — While life as we know it is on hold due to pandemic restrictions, there are certain aspects that simply must go on.
As local funeral directors brace for a potential increase in overall deaths due to COVID-19, they’re also faced with limiting the number of people who can attend funeral visitations and services.
“We’re working with families to keep crowds to (10) or below,” said Dane Erlewein, owner of Erlewein Mortuary & Crematory.
“The buzzword is social distancing, and we have plenty of room to do that. The chapels are large enough to space the chairs out so people aren’t sitting next to each other,” he said.
At Stillinger Family Funeral Home in Greenfield and Seals Funeral Home in Fortville, visitations are limited to 10 or fewer guests.
Mike Staton, owner of Seals Funeral Home, keeps a watchful eye on the latest mandates handed down by the governor and the president, knowing the guidelines for funeral homes can change day-to-day.
“We just received something from the Indiana Funeral Directors Association (last) week which states public funeral events are not, for the immediate future, considered essential gatherings. So we need to stick to the limitations,” Staton said. Funeral homes are not affected by Gov. Eric Holcomb’s stay-at-home order, issued Monday, March 23. Funeral directors are considered “critical infrastructure workers,” according to the executive order.
Grieving families are handling the restrictions remarkably well, according to local funeral directors.
“So far, all of our families have been very understanding,” said David Stillinger, owner of Stillinger Family Funeral Home, who also serves as Hancock County coroner. “They understand that it’s out of our hands, and that the limits are in place to protect the community.”
Late last week, Staton made funeral arrangements for a person who had grandchildren living out-of-state. The grandchildren were upset to hear they wouldn’t be able to attend the service, he said, while the adults in the family understood the need for precautions.
“We’re all looking out for everybody’s well-being, and part of our job as funeral directors is looking out for the overall public health as well,” he said.
While it may seem unthinkable to pare down a list of attendees for a funeral — an event designed to pull families together as they mourn a loss while celebrating a life — families recognize the need and have been able to adjust to the change, Stillinger said.
“We had a service scheduled earlier (last) week for a young woman, and there was probably going to be a lot of people coming in from all over the place. We had to call the family and say we’re going to have to cancel the public aspects of the service. The family almost felt relieved for the sake of their safety and that of the guests,” he said.
Adhering to public health guidelines not only ensures the health of guests but the funeral home staff as well. “We’re working 24/7, 365 days a a year, so it would be hard if we all get sick and are unable to work,” said Stillinger, who is also cautious about the health of his coroner’s staff.
With the latest crowd restrictions at funeral homes, some families are opting to hold a larger memorial service later in the year, when restrictions are hopefully lifted and crowds can gather once again.
There are still options for those who wish to have more than the restricted number of people at funeral services. “For a large family, we ask them to go into the visitation in 30- or 45-minute increments,” Staton said.
“If it’s a three- or four-hour service, you can still have (numerous) people come through if they don’t all come at once,” said Erlewein, whose staff has been monitoring the number of people congregated at any given time.
Others might opt to restrict the list of people who can attend. “When a family needs to make a list of those closest friends and family who can attend, it’s obviously a tough situation,” Erlewein said.
The crowd restrictions are made easier thanks to the use of digital technology, which has been used for years to live-stream funeral services and help people to feel connected, even from halfway around the world.
FaceTime and Skype are even being used by some funeral directors to help families plan funeral arrangements from home.
“We’re able to have families log in to view casket, burial vaults and cremation merchandise,” Staton said.
Even if COVID-19-related fatalities make their way to Hancock County, local funeral directors say they’re prepared to handle it.
“We have personal protective equipment when handling the deceased, as well as the embalming process, and I imagine we might be doing some additional disinfection as well,” Staton said.
