Phone Eulogies, Videotapes Make Funerals Virtual Events
May 03, 2011
At a cemetery in Arneytown, N.J., Ash Martine Scalf stands somberly inside the funeral chapel, facing the pine coffin. No friends or relatives of the deceased are on hand, but the service will go on. The rabbi whips out a Motorola cellular phone and proceeds to deliver the eulogy. As inevitable as death itself, advanced technology is clicking its way into the funeral industry. In an era when ``distant relatives'' can mean grandchildren who live thousands of miles away and can't make it to grandma's funeral, cellular phones, video cameras and computers are emerging as a way for clergy to reach out and touch family members. ``They hear the service not in body but in soul,'' says Mr. Scalf. Attendance at funerals is down nationwide since 1990, according to a study by the Wirthlin Group. A speaker-phone eulogy can bring a fractured and far-flung family together, allowing those who are too sick, too poor or simply too busy to attend services to participate. Wien & Wien, a funeral-parlor chain based in Hackensack, N.J., now outfits its hearses with cell phones so clergy members can speak from grave sites. ``We realized that could be comforting,'' says Fransisca Broadnax, the funeral director. Funeral homes around the country now routinely videotape services, selling tasteful montages to friends and relatives who couldn't make it. Even the Internet may soon have an outpost in funeral homes. Simplex Knowledge Co., a small maker of Internet products in White Plains, N.Y., plans to roll out an on-line funeral hookup this fall. A camera in the funeral parlor will flash out images of the mourners, the flowers, the coffin, and -- if the family permits -- even the dearly departed. Cybermourners can sign on to participate in the service and express their condolences on a chat line. Jackelyn Martine, Simplex's president, says funeral directors gave him the idea: ``They said, `people don't come anymore,' '' he says. Of course, old-fashioned ways are still the norm at most funeral parlors. Michaele Borrego, who runs the Valley Funeral Home in Burbank, Calif., admits that the concept of an Internet funeral is new to him. Still, he is quick to acknowledge the potential, saying: ``It would afford the solace of almost'' -- or virtually -- ``being there.''
