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 I received a knock on the door on a recent Sunday afternoon. I almost did not answer, figuring it was someone either knocking to encourage me to vote in the upcoming election, which I try to do consistently, or someone was going to try to sell me something. So, reluctantly, I opened the door. There stood a woman I had met before informing me that her young niece had died from cancer that morning, after a courageous battle fighting the disease.
As tears flowed, she explained to me that the eight-year-old child had withered to a mere 30 pounds. The funeral was to take place that week on Thursday, a mere 4 days later, and the family was adamant on its desire to entomb the child in a single-crypt mausoleum. Now, the purchase of a mausoleum should not be a rushed experience.
‘What about the foundation?’ I thought. Surely, the family will not want an adult-sized mausoleum for a child that was a mere 42 inches tall, or 3 feet, 6 inches tall. What size casket will the family want? Caskets are sized in 6-inch increments, and I was not provided with the dimensions, so the size of the mausoleum was only an educated guess.
For those who desire entombment in a mausoleum, it is common that a temporary mausoleum will be rented until a permanent mausoleum can be constructed. There is a wide range of sizes and prices for mausoleums.
Basically, for a child, my advice was for the client to view the mausoleums on our website, www.ValdostaMemorials.com, and we could then downsize the mausoleum to fit the needs of a child.
Due to the expense involved, the range of options for prebuilt mausolea is very limited.
That reality was not good enough for the family who did not want to delay the service. I suggested that the service might proceed as scheduled, but that a temporary mausoleum is often used. That suggestion was also unacceptable. At this point, I was reminded of how Job felt while in the belly of the whale.
I informed the family that a full-sized mausoleum would require a poured and reinforced foundation, with a recommended minimum two weeks for the concrete to cure. This suggestion was also rebuffed. A foundation is critical for long-term preservation of any memorial.
I do not know why this family waited until death before presenting themselves with the desire to purchase a mausoleum. A mausoleum is best purchased far in advance of death. Perhaps it was the hope against hope that the child would survive the cancer. Perhaps it was the overwhelming stress of knowing that a young child the family dearly loved was dying with no hope for recovery. I do not know the answer to my question. What I do know is that the family came into our office with expectations that called for heroic measures on our part, and we did our best to care for them during their time of need.
Ultimately, the family hired a competitor on the basis of factors beyond our control and that did not relate to quality, price, style, or our relationship. The family offered to pay me for my time, knowing I had invested nearly 8 hours on their behalf. As a professional, I told the family that payment was not necessary, but the mother insisted that she wanted to make a payment to me. Though we were disappointed to lose the sale, we were grateful that we were able to assist the family in their time of great need.
If it is your desire to purchase a mausoleum for either yourself or a loved one, it is best that you do this in advance. As a general rule, do your preneed planning, and avoid the stress of making important purchasing decisions under chaotic conditions.
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