My Parents Planned Their Funeral Expenses

Prepared by Fred McCaleb 1995

The time was long ago at about the end of the great depression and the beginning
of World War Two. My mother was in her late forties age wise and thought she was
in bad health. It seemed to me that her thoughts might be right. My daddy
seemed to be in good health, although he had a bad habit of smoking cigarettes.
Neither of our parents wanted to put the burden of a funeral on their children.
A salesman from Brown Funeral Home of Fayette, Al. came along with a great deal
on a preplanned funeral. My parents could pay so much each week for so many
years (I believe $1 a week for 10 years) and have all expenses taken care of
for the best variety of funeral ($350) available in those days. My parents
took the offer and made the payments until the policy was paid up.
In 1958 my father died of heart trouble due to continuous smoking cigarettes
during his lifetime. Brown, or its successors, gave daddy a cheap funeral. I
never did see the costs on that. My mother took care of whatever expenses she
may have had to pay from her small funds.
By 1959 momma was unable to stay home by herself. She reluctantly went home
with my youngest sister, a nurse, to her home in Atlanta. But being away from
Fayette, Al. worried my mother. She wanted to be buried in Fayette. She visited
us in Arab, Al. where I was fixing to build a garage. She asked me to build her
an apartment connected with the garage, which I did. She was closer to Fayette
so she could get a funeral just like daddy had. Nineteen Hundred sixty four
came around, and I lost my job with Thiokol as a solid rocket propellant liner
chemist.
The next job was as an ink chemist at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing,
Washington, D.C. No way would my mother go that far away. I managed to help her
get an apartment at the Fayette Housing Project. There she lived for about 7
years, then she went to Fayette Nursing Home. There she lived on and on for
about ten more years until she died in 1981 at age 87.
Momma's request was that she get a funeral just like dad's. When she died Brown
Funeral home was a thing of the long ago, long gone. Norwood Funeral home had
taken Brown's place. Others decided what kind of funeral momma would have. A
daughter and daughter in law decided it should be the best. Norwood allowed
$350 and the rest came to about $2100. Her five children shared the cost. Momma
got buried in style, but not with Brown Funeral Funds. I do not regret my part
of the cost. Momma got a better funeral than daddy. I learned not to do a
preplanned funeral arrangement as is being promoted today by the funeral home
business.
P.S. My mother came to see me in Arlington, VA. She rode a jet airliner from
Atlanta to Washington. It took about as long to get to the airport as her trip
up. She said she enjoyed the ride. Most of the rides during her life were in a
buggy when younger, and in a farm wagon after marriage. She always had
headaches when riding on the farm wagon.