New Funeralwise.com Survey Shows Contrasting Funeral Choices
People Prefer Either a “Celebration of Life” or No Funeral At All
Chicago, IL – The new survey conducted by Funeralwise.com revealed an important finding for the funeral industry – almost half of those surveyed would like a “celebration of life” ceremony versus only 11% that prefer a traditional funeral. Also, a startling fact came to light – over 30% do not want a funeral.
The survey was conducted with 1,643 respondents who entered the Create a Great Funeral Sweepstakes held in association with the 11th annual Create a Great Funeral Day. Seeking to find out if people wanted to experience their own funeral, the survey found that 19% would like to attend their own funeral if that was possible and 14% would consider throwing themselves a funeral in their lifetime.
“Overall, this survey points out contrasting funeral preferences,” said Rick Paskin, co-founder of Funeralwise.com. “On the one hand, there is a trend toward viewing funerals as celebrations of life, particularly with younger age groups. But on the other hand, nearly one-third of respondents said they do not want a funeral – that’s a significant percentage. Funeral directors need to be keenly aware of these attitudes.”
In summary, the interesting revelations of the Funeralwise.com survey include:
- 48% would like a celebration of life
- 11% want a traditional funeral
- 31% do not want a funeral (goes up to 37% for those over 75 years old)
- 14% would consider throwing themselves a funeral
- 19% would like to attend their own funeral
How should the funeral industry respond to these findings? “This really shows that people need to be educated on the importance of funeral planning before there’s a death in the family,” said Funeralwise.com co-founder Larry Anspach. “At the very least, families need to discuss their funeral preferences. Its okay to not want a funeral, but have you considered the impact on family and friends? They may want a ceremony to remember you and say good-bye.”
Funeralwise.com provides free, online funeral planning via its website. Aiming to provide “Everything You Need to Know About Funerals,” Funeralwise.com also features extensive information on funeral-related subjects including funeral customs, funeral etiquette, and grief support. Visitors to the site can subscribe to its “Word to the Wise” series of free guides [1]. Also, Funeralwise can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Funeralwise [2].
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