3 Things to Consider for the Family Lineup at a Funeral Visitation

If you have an ill elderly family member who is making his or her funeral arrangements with your help, one of the details that you'll need to think about and discuss with your family is the lineup. Traditionally, family members will stand in a line so that people arriving to offer their condolences can approach them one by one. In some cases, the lineup will extend from the door of your room in the future home to where the casket is positioned with the deceased person's body.

There are many important details to think about in advance of getting ready to line up. Here are some things to consider.

Determine the Order of People

Although you're free to stand in any order that suits your family, you'll generally find that the person closest to the deceased is closest to his or her body. If you're an adult dealing with the death of an elderly parent, for example, the surviving parent will customarily be next to the casket, or last in line. You and your siblings may be next, followed by any other family members that you wish to stand with you. One approach is to have the first person in the line someone who has an outgoing personality, as he or she will be the first to be greeted by those arriving at the funeral home.

Determine Proper Spacing

One error that many people make when setting up a visitation line is having the family members stand too closely together. Although there's a feeling of support in this approach, there can also be some issues. For example, if a funeral attendee is speaking at length to someone in the line, the other attendees will likely bunch up behind him or her.

After they offer their sympathies, they'll essentially be standing in front of you or your family members with little else to say. This is especially true if you don't know each other well, and this can be uncomfortable. Having some space between people or couples in the line means that attendees can linger in these gaps if there's a slowdown in front of them.

Determine Whether Children Can Join the Line

If you or a family member has children, you'll want to decide whether or not they'll join you in the line. There's no right answer here—some people have very young children with them, while others arrive for childcare during this time. If the children are infants, it's arguably easier to not have them present. Young children can stand with you in the line if you feel as though they're up to the task. In the case of adolescents and teens, they're likely old enough to take part in this important process.

If you need additional insight on these and other funeral arrangements, contact services like Brinsfield-Echols Funeral Home.