Funeral Wisdom: Things you should or should not say at a funeral

At age 65, I’m beginning to spend more time standing in line at funerals or pre-funeral visitations. Over the years, I’ve heard people say things that have made me cringe. And, I’ve probably said some of those same trite phrases myself years ago. Now, because we’ve heard other people say those things they’ve become part of our own “funeral language.”

It’s surprising to think that we’d take time out of our busy lives to pay our respects at a funeral, but give so little thought to what we will say to comfort those who are mourning, when we get there. We should be asking ourselves, “What would we like to hear if it was our loved one who was lying there?”

So, about a dozen years back, I took a little time to think about it and made some pre-decisions about what I ought to say, or ought not to say at funerals. I’ll share some of these ideas here, but I’d also like to hear your own ideas.