The seminar will provide you with the information you need to understand the benefits and process involved in estate and funeral pre-planning.

The presentation will be given by an Estate Attorney and one of our Funeral Directors (Michele Plasz or Buddy Phaneuf).  The information they will provide is invaluable. Additionally, they will be available to assist you with questions you may have.

Most importantly, considering preplanning and estate planning is the first step in ensuring that all of your final wishes will be fulfilled. It can eliminate the financial burden that a funeral might pose on your family, and provides you and your family with the peace-of-mind in knowing that everything has been “taken care of”. It’s the best gift you can leave your loved ones. We encourage you to attend a seminar.

The preplanning seminars will be taking place on May 15, 16 and 17. Please visit our seminar page for information on times and locations of each seminar, as well as to register for this event.

Phaneuf Funeral Homes & Crematorium will be recognized at the 12th annual BBB Torch Awards. We are receiving the award for having achieved a “perfect record” of no complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau of NH for three consecutive years.

The Torch Awards honor select businesses showing prowess in marketplace ethics through trust, performance and integrity. Award winners are recognized for their outstanding business practices and for promoting a trustworthy marketplace for all.

The award will be presented to Phaneuf Funeral Homes alongside other select award recipients at the 12th Anuual Torch Awards Luncheon to be held on May 8, 2012 at the Radisson Hotel on Elm Street in Manchester, NH. If you would like to attend the award celebration, you can do so by registering online at http://concord.app.bbb.org/events or calling the Concord BBB office at (603) 224-1991.  The awards ceremony and luncheon is $40.00 per person. We are honored to be a recipient of the Torch Award.

Every day, there are a number of men and women who fight to protect and save the lives of others. We appreciate all of the people who have chosen a career of service.

Our hearts go out to all the family and friends of Police Chief Michael Maloney. We are sharing the thin blue line in his honor today.

The Thin Blue Line is a symbol of support for law enforcement officers and is used among fellow officers. The blue represents officers and the courage they have when facing insurmountable odds.  The black background is a constant reminder of all officers who have fallen. The line is what police officers protect; it’s the barrier between order and chaos.  Together, they symbolize the camaraderie law enforcement officers all share, the brotherhood like no other.

Today, please share the photo with the Thin Blue Line in honor of Police Chief Michael Maloney.  May he rest in peace.

The most common practices for selecting a funeral home are choosing the funeral home that your family used in the past or selecting the one that is closest to your residence. Although both of these methods of selection are common, they are not necessarily the best way to select a funeral home. We encourage you to spend a few moments looking into a funeral home before making your decision to ensure that you are selecting one that will meet or exceed your needs.

Please keep in mind that there are many national funeral chains that are acquiring family-owned funeral homes.  Large corporations own nearly ¼ of all the funeral homes in the country, and over 10% of NH funeral homes.  These corporations are continuing to acquire funeral homes, which makes it quite possible that the family-owned funeral home you used in the past is no longer run by that family.  Be sure to check into this, as your experience with the national-chain may be very different from the last one you had with a family-owned home.

Additionally, you should do some research into the funeral homes servicing your area. You can do this by looking into funeral homes online or by calling the funeral home and speaking with someone to determine if you feel comfortable with them.

At the end of the day, the funeral home you select should make you and your family feel very comfortable and supported in paying tribute to your loved one.

Give the child the opportunity to express their feelings or to tell their story. Let them be the teachers of their experience with grief. Help the child understand loss and death. Encourage the child to ask questions.

Remember to allow adequate time for a child to grieve, at the pace that works for them. The grieving process is just that, a process, and there is no timeline on how much time it will take.

Be honest with the child. Lies or half-truths will not help with the healing process, so be honest and open with the child.

Give the child the attention and support he/she may require during this time. Do activities with the child to help them cope. Perhaps you can buy seeds and plant them in memory of your loved one.

Throughout the process of supporting your child through the grieving process, we’d like to remind you to also make sure you are taking the time you need to grieve as well.

If you require more information on grieving children, here are some excellent resources: http://childgrief.org/documents/HowtoHelp.pdf
http://childgrief.org/documents/WordsthatHelpandHurt.pdf http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/griefwar.pdf

The City Landmark Award distinguishes a building for its importance historically and architecturally, as well as for all the efforts that have been made to maintain and renovate the structure.

We’d like to offer suggestions for those who may have hesitations about posting to an online tribute or online guest book. We hope this helps you feel more comfortable in writing a post.

If your trying to decide what to write about consider sharing a memory or a story of a meaningful experience or thoughts on what you will miss most. Or simply write a kind farewell message.

Finally, think of the person who has passed and write your message based on what you think would’ve made him or her happy. Write from your heart, and share your thoughts. Re-read it to make sure it conveys your thoughts and feelings accurately, but don’t worry about finding the perfect words.

Posting a message will help in giving you closure, and you will be able to go back to it at any point to find comfort not only in reading your post, but in reading the messages others have left.

This is an interesting proposition. The Westboro Baptist Church would have the opportunity to speak freely, while the mourners would be shielded from their words and protests. Additionally, if a listener doesn’t want to hear it, they could choose to turn off their radios. Verbal exchanges can take place with the radio hosts instead of with mourners, providing them with a peaceful environment of which to mourn.

The question remains, are radio stations willing to interview the Westboro Congregants? And how do the listeners feel about this arrangement?

A Washington-based radio DJ, Bobby D., recently agreed to trade airtime in exchange for halting a protest scheduled by the Westboro Baptist Church at a funeral being held for two young boys who were slain by their father.

“I thought, ‘Hey, maybe I could do something here,’ ” Bobby D said. He knew the deal probably wouldn’t gain him new listeners and would no doubt offend many. But he said he remembered a dark time during high school when he lost his mother, and then his best friend. He said he couldn’t imagine how painful it would be to have Westboro congregants — or anyone else — protesting outside those funerals.

Westboro Congregant, Shirley Phelps agreed to call-off the protests in exchange for airtime with Bobby D. The interview was recorded on a Friday, and as long as no protests took place during that weekend’s funeral services, he agreed to air the interview on the following Monday.

Bobby D stated that the interview was very difficult to perform, as he felt as though he needed to rein in his outrage at some of Phelp’s answers, but he handled it very well.

And as with most things, there were a mix of reactions from listeners.  Some were negative, as many did not agree with Bobby D.’s decision. Comments made on air and on his blog included statements such as “Trading air time for protests saves Westboro money in travel expenses and gives them a much wider outreach.” And “Bobby, you’ve been played”.

On the otherhand, others appreciated what Bobby D. had done, thanking him and other radio shows in helping diffuse and de-escalate the situation while providing a more appropriate venue for free speech.

Bobby D said he has no regrets. “I’d rather people be mad at me and hate my show than have these people ruin a day that was already going to be so horrible,” he said.

What’s your opinion? Do you think radio shows should trade radio time to avoid a funeral protest? Please share your thoughts.