Funeral Industry Must Listen: People Hate Traditional Funerals

The audience is listening to Kathie Lee Gifford. She has the stage right now because of the death of her husband. She has a strong voice.  She openly talks about her faith in God on national television.  And she talks about funerals.

On The Today Show, she said that her husband, Frank Gifford, hated funerals so she held a party instead.


The media has picked up on this profound statement and now there are headlines about it.

This is not the first time I've heard that someone hates traditional funeral service.  The tide is turning and people are doing different things to celebrate life stories.

My friend's memorial service was held yesterday in an outdoor picnic area of her retirement home community. And I am telling you that this was probably one of the most touching scenes I've ever witnessed.  They expected 60 people and more than 100 people showed up.  She had donated her body to Research for Life and, at a later date, her ashes will be scattered at sea.  So, there was no funeral home involved.  And she wanted it that way.

We held the memorial service outdoors, we played songs and told stories, and we laid flowers in front of her picture as the song "Angel" by Sarah MacLachlan played in the background.  Following the reception at her home, her children tossed flowers into the ocean waters at the beach in honor of their mother and my friend, Marion Green.  It was beautiful, touching and personal.

Times are changing and either the funeral industry will listen to the need to change the cookie-cutter-approach or it will affect long-term profit.

Only time will tell if the funeral industry is willing to listen to what people want.

If a family walks through the door saying they want something personal and describes exactly what they want, why is it so challenging to honor a family's wishes?

Whomever is paying the bill has the right to decide how that service plays out.  Kathie Lee Gifford was paying the bill and she decided to invest that money into a party rather than a traditional funeral service. The funeral industry has to stop and ask themselves, "Why?"  What did she need that we could not deliver?

When you die, do you want a funeral or a party?

Exactly like my friend, Frank Gifford apparently made a similar decision before he died.  Now, millions of people all over the world are listening and inspired by Kathie Lee Gifford's powerful message that the alternative was the better option.