THE great sorrow brought upon a family by the death of a loved one renders the immediate members of the family incapable of attending to the necessary arrangements for the funeral. The services of an intimate friend, or a relative, should, therefore, be sought. He should receive general instructions from the family, after which he should take entire charge of the arrangements, and relieve them from all care on the subject. If such a person cannot be had, the arrangements may be placed in the hands of the sexton of the church the deceased attended in life, or of some responsible undertaker.
The expenses of the funeral should be in accordance with the means of the family. No false pride should permit the relatives to incur undue expense in order to make a showy funeral. At the same time, affection will dictate that all the marks of respect which you can provide should be paid to the memory of your beloved dead.
Funeral Invitations.
In some parts of the country it is customary to send notes of invitation to the funeral to the friends of the deceased and of the family. These invitations should be printed, neatly and simply, on mourning paper, with envelopes to match, and should be delivered by a private messenger. The following is a correct form, the names and dates to be changed to suit the occasion:
"Yourself and family are respectfully invited to attend the funeral of David B. Jones, on Tuesday, March 18, 189-, at 11 o'clock a.m., from his late residence, 1926 Amber Street, to proceed to Laurel Hill Cemetery."
Where the funeral is from a church, the invitation should read:
"Yourself and family are respectfully invited to attend the funeral of David B. Jones, from the Church of the Holy Trinity, on Tuesday, March 18, 189-, at 11 o'clock a.m., to proceed to Laurel Hill Cemetery."