In all that time, he could not bear to believe he would die. And in the final days of his life in 1995, when hope of a cure was gone and the focus was on making him comfortable, Hank's mind was consumed with weightier thoughts than the funeral. In some hospice cases, families are able to plan funerals together. But that was not the situation for Hank and his wife of seven years, Karen. Karen didn't even know which funeral home to call.
Most people use one that buried other relatives or happens to be close by.
Richard J. Fluehr Sr., owner of the family firm, outlined her options. Not at all pushy. What Karen remembers most from those difficult days are the words of a hospice social worker. G enerations before ours had more first-hand experience with death. Children died in infancy more frequently, and more siblings were lost to disease.