We all have gone through a phase of immense grief and sadness when, unfortunately, we have lost a loved one. The feeling is never pleasant and it is something we never want to relive. However, the fact is that death and mortality are inevitable. In such unfortunate situations, we can only give the best goodbye to the loved one, who has been with us through thick and thin. This is what Gunderson Funeral Home specializes in.
They sought to provide grief counseling to their clients, alongside ensuring that the best crematory services have been arranged for the ones who have decided to set on their heavenly abode.
1. What Is a Funeral Home?
A funeral home is an enterprise that prepares funeral services and makes cremation preparations for families who have lost their loved ones. They are also known as a funeral parlor or mortuary. They are more or less responsible for the entire process of conducting a good funeral, which involves several responsibilities, like preparation of the casket, and flowers, holding visitations for the body, transportation, and just a lot of other responsibilities involving the deceased.
The family or friends of the deceased contact the funeral homes or their officials and remain constantly in touch with them informing them of how they want the services to be conducted. Furthermore, they also look into venues for conducting a funeral.
The role played by a funeral home in helping the bereaved family go through their grieving process is essential. They work in coordination with the bereaved family, attempting to make the funeral as personalized as possible and celebrating the deceased’s life. The officials of the concerned establishment assist the family with the necessary legal paperwork, publishing obituary notices and in some cases, grief counseling services are also provided by the company.
2. Gunderson Funeral Home:
2.1 History:
Gunderson funeral home was established in 1922 and is Dane County’s longest single-family operated funeral home. The establishment is run by four generations of a family, and their dedicated staff who prioritize the satisfaction and comfort of their clients over anything. They strive to serve the family of their clients with the same amount of personal care that they showcase for their own families, and this has been passed down from generation to generation. The funeral home has nine locations spread throughout Dane County.
2.2 Goal:
Their goal is to lessen the burden on people’s families so that their clients can focus on celebrating their loved one’s life and begin their journey of grief and overcoming it.
3. Facilities at Gunderson Funeral Home:
Gunderson funeral home has the best facilities in store for their clients and hopes to make their funeral home a second home to the client’s families and ensure they receive the utmost comfort at such a crucial and tough time.
To facilitate the best services and celebrate the lives of those who have passed, Gunderson funeral home is available at nine locations throughout Dane County. The head office of the enterprise is located in Wisconsin.
3.1 Staff:
In every enterprise, the need for compassionate and dedicated staff is of extreme significance. If the staff aren’t competent, the purpose of the enterprise lacks. It becomes all the more necessary for enterprises whose purpose is hospitality, and in the case of managing funeral homes, the need multiplies.
Gunderson has a dedicated and compassionate staff of funeral directors who ensure that the client’s deceased loved ones are kept alive through memories. The business is headed by the President and the Vice President who are a part of the Gunderson family itself. In addition, there are a few funeral directors responsible for managing the arrangements who are also a part of the Gunderson family. Furthermore, there is a fur friend of the Gunderson family, Elmer Gunderson, who is there to provide Grief therapy for Gunderson’s clients.
4. How Do They Plan?
The website of the Gunderson family home has an entire set of instructions set for how to go about starting the planning for arranging a funeral. They have a section dedicated to how one can start after they get to know of their loved one’s death.
4.1 What to Do within Hours?
A section under the heading “within hours” briefs the readers on how to react when their loved ones pass away at home, or somewhere that isn’t a healthcare facility. in such circumstances, the person should make sure to contact their nearest health facility. This will speed up the process of documentation that needs to be processed for the dead.
4.2 What to Do within a Few Days?
A section under the heading “within a few days” briefs the readers on how to proceed with funeral planning. In the first place, the people close to the deceased should try and contact their relatives, close family, or other friends and inform them of the unfortunate incident. They can also request help from their other acquaintances to convey the message too.
Then follows looking over the wishes of the dead with regards to the funeral, if any. This involves types of flowers, places of cremation, types of coffins, or even the way they want their funeral services to take place. If the deceased did not have any particular wishes, it falls upon the family member to make decisions as such. This is where the funeral director of Gunderson funeral home comes into question. This is the starting point of the bigger plans to take place.
4.3 What Happens When the Client Meets the Funeral Directors?
On meeting the funeral director, they set to plan the funeral, which involves making a price list that will display the overall pay plan and the average amount one may have to spend on the entire process.
In addition, there are a lot of extra details that the clients need to provide the funeral directors with, so they could make the funeral as personalized as possible and can honor the client’s loved one in actuality.
Furthermore, a lot of other preparations need to be made too which include, filing for an official death certificate, deciding on the venue and time of the funeral, arranging an obituary, selecting a coffin, casket, or urn, and even deciding on the transportation.
The website of Gunderson’s Funeral Home gives detailed information on all the important information that one may need to bring along.
5. Services:
Based on the client’s personal choices, the funeral directors will make arrangements for the type of funeral services requested by the client from the options available at their enterprise.
The Gunderson funeral home has funeral services involving:
5.1 Burial Services
on certain occasions, the clients may have an immediate burial of their beloved without public service. There are visitations for the guests who would want to visit the deceased or wakes organized as well. These may be organized at a particular venue or the homes of the deceased.
5.2 Cremation Services:
Regarding the cremation services, it is encouraged to hold a visitation or a funeral service for the deceased. After the cremation, the family can decide how they want to dispose of or store the remains of the deceased. Based on the personal preference of the family members of the deceased, Gunderson will provide the requested service.
5.3 Green Burial Services:
In case the deceased had been a person who was an enjoyer of nature and was passionate about plants, this type of burial will honor them, and at the same time make sure they are eco-friendly. The clients can contact the staff for more information on green burial services.
5.4 Personalization Option:
There are several personalization options available on the website of Gunderson funeral home among which the client can choose what kind of products and services they would want.
5.4.1 Stationery:
Gunderson funeral home has several stationery items to choose from that will help their clients cherish the memories of their loved ones better. In this department, one can choose from several diaries that may be customized.
5.4.2 Videos:
The staff of the enterprise will arrange an assortment of memories which include pictures, and with the help of music make it a symbolization of the memorable and wonderful times the client and their loved ones have spent. In short, the deceased’s family share memories with the funeral directors and help them conduct themselves better.
5.4.3 Keepsake Candles:
Gunderson funeral home will provide customized candles that may be a source of warmth and comfort for the bereaved families.
5.4.4 Merchandise:
Lastly, they have a variety of merchandise ranging from urns and even customized benefits memorial products.
5.2 Veterans Benefits:
Gunderson has in place veteran benefits if the deceased are eligible to qualify for it. These include having a folded flag of America to the next of kin and being honored by the officials in higher positions in the US Army. In many cases, the National anthem is also set to play. However to avail of this benefit, one requires to qualify as an official in the military or US Army.
6. Importance of Pre-Planning:
Pre-planning is a major task before many social events and when events as such are involved, it becomes all the more necessary. Moreover, it also becomes a difficult task because the deceased’s family is already grieving. They may not be in the proper frame of mind to address such concerns.
There are certain benefits of preplanning too, which help us soothe our souls and relieve grief and help our clients unburden. This also allows us to be in control of such a big honor for our celebrations.
The website of Gunderson funeral home also has a preplanning checklist available so that it is easier for their clients to go through that and make sure that all the necessary arrangements have been made for the funeral.
7. Location:
The Gunderson funeral home is a family-owned business and enterprise that has been serving the Greater Madison Area for a long time now. They are available at the locations mentioned below:
- Cross Plains, 2421 Church St Cross Plains, WI 53528
- Fitchburg, 2950 Chapel Valley Rd Fitchburg, WI 53711
- Lodi, 157 S Main St Lodi, WI 53555
- Madison, 5203 Monona Dr. Monona, WI 53716
- Middleton, 7435 University Ave Middleton, WI 53562
- Oregon, 1150 Park St Oregon, WI 53575
- Stoughton, 1358 US Highway 51, Stoughton, WI 53589
- Mt. Horeb, 500 N 8th St Mount Horeb, WI 53572
- Black Earth, 1710 Center St Black Earth, WI 53515
8. Obituaries:
The website of Gunderson funeral home has the recent obituaries published on its page. The clients who would want the same can subscribe to it, or contact the officials if they wish to have the same published for their loved ones.
9. Reviews:
Gunderson Funeral Home has received good reviews if one should rely on the testimonials of their clients. Most of the people who have worked with Gunderson have sung praises of their staff, and the way their grieving process was made simpler with the help of the support their staff provided. They have praised the planning process of Gunderson Funeral Home and applauded them for the way they have chosen to honor the memories of their deceased loved ones.
10. Conclusion:
On a final note, Gunderson Funeral Home has been serving the community for a century with its dedication and compassion. The range of services that they strive to provide for their clients has made them stand out as Dane Count’s longest single-family-run funeral home. Their mission is to relieve their clients of the burden during their time of loss and allow them to grieve in comfort and can look forward to beginning their journey of grief and healing.
With their striving to provide excellent services and a keen eye for detail, Gunderson funeral home has earned positive reviews from their staff who have praised them for their excellent staff and their seamless planning process. If one chooses the Gunderson funeral home, rest assured they will ensure that their client’s loved ones are laid to rest with honor and their memories will be cherished.
In such unfortunate times of loss, Gunderson funeral home stands as a pillar of support, helping people going through that loss navigate the difficult journey of letting go of their loved ones and finding healing and comfort in the condolences received, and cherishing the memories that were created.
