Some of you remember the old television show “Mission Impossible.”  An undercover team of agents always accomplished that which you would think would be impossible.  The best kept secret is that those who are ill and uninsured can do just that.

Most people believe that you can not get insurance once you have a serious illness such as cancer, severe heart or lung disease, Aids, etc...  The good news is that in most cases you can.  There are policies (pre-need funeral plans)  available that can be paid for on  a monthly basis for up to 3, 5  or 10 years.  These plans are funded through life insurance companies and are for the costs of funeral services and, or interment. The amount paid to your beneficiary upon death depends on the length of time the policyholder lives, after purchasing the policy. These are great policies because they grow in interest.  Health questions are asked but no physical exam is required.

If a person has health problems and chooses to pay on a pre-need plan for 3, 5 or 10 years and death occurs in the first 6 months, their family will receive a return of premiums paid plus interest.  They lose nothing.   If a person has health problems and death occurs after 6 months and a day of starting a policy, the death benefit on a 3 year plan would be 50% of the face value of the policy.  After 1 year and a day, the benefit paid out would be 100% of the face amount.  For example: Someone starts a $5,000. 00 pre-need plan for a relative that is ill and chooses a 3 year plan.  If the relative dies in 8 months the insurance company would pay $2,500.00.  If the relative lived 1 year and two months the death benefit would be $5,000.00 plus.  The 3 year plan would be the best for a person that is very ill, however the monthly premium would be higher than the 5 or 10 year plan. If a person has health problems and death occurs after 6 months and a day up until 1 year, on a 5 or 10 year plan, the death benefit would be 30% of the face amount.  After 1 year and a day up until 2 years, the benefit would be 70% of the face amount; and after 2 years and a day the benefit would be 100% of the face amount.  Therefore a person with health problems would need to live 2 years and a day on a 5 to 10 year plan for the full amount of the policy to be payable upon death.  These details can be explained to you in person or over the phone by a pre-need counselor.

The bottom line is that even a very ill person can be insured.  (The exception is a person that is in the hospital terminally ill, on life supports, etc…)  Don’t assume that anyone is uninsurable.  This may seem to be an impossible mission but it can be accomplished. 

Gail Valentine Taylor, M.S.W.

Funeral Director

Woods-Valentine Mortuary

(626) 798-8941

“In Loving Memory” is a phrase that adorns many a funeral program, sympathy card and headstone.  These words and other salutations are used to pay tribute to a person who has passed away.  We all seek ways to remember and memorialize our dearly departed.  The headstone marks the place where our loved one is buried and helps us, and generations to come, to remember. 

Headstones are also commonly known as grave markers.  They have more recently been called “memorials” as that is their purpose. The New Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word memorial as “something designed to keep remembrance alive.” Our loved ones may die, but they are forever alive in our hearts and minds. 

Memorial markers are constructed granite or bronze, or a combination of both.  They come in a variety of colors and sizes, with numerous designs to choose from including, floral, religious and nature designs.  Graphic symbols such as crosses, hearts, stars, angels, praying hands, airplanes, etc.  are available, as are different lettering types, finishes, and edges.  Pictures are becoming more and more popular and can be etched, or in black and white or color.  

Samples of pre-designed memorials are available to choose from or you can totally customize one.  The possibilities are endless, giving you a great opportunity to personalize your loved ones marker, and truly reflect the life lived.  At a minimum, the person’s name, year or birth and year of death is engraved on the memorial, as well as a salutation or tribute such as “Loving Wife”, “Beloved Brother and Friend”, “Devoted”, and “Dearly Missed.” 

The wording you decide upon is only limited by the size of the memorial and therefore the space available.  Memorials are made for individuals and also for companions, such as a husband and wife, with space for two names, set of dates, etc… 

In addition to the cost of the marker, which varies, depending on material, size, pictures, graphics, etc…, the cemetery charges a fee to set the marker.

Veterans are entitled to a free headstone when they pass away, whether they are buried in a National cemetery or private cemetery.  The family only has to pay the cemetery’s marker setting fee. 

We at Woods-Valentine Mortuary are pleased to now offer memorial markers, as do other mortuaries and cemeteries.  A funeral counselor will show you a variety of designs, symbols, and styles, and assist you in selecting this personal tribute.  

The headstone is an item that some families postpone the purchase of, as it is not required at the time of burial.  But it is never too late.   It is an important and lasting tribute. It is truly one way to keep our deceased loved ones’ remembrance alive.  They are gone but not forgotten.

Gail Valentine Taylor, M.S.W.

Funeral Director

Woods-Valentine Mortuary

gailt@woodsvalentinemortuary.com

(626) 798-8941

Some of you will be missing a loved one this year; a loved one who has passed away.  This season of hope, peace and love may be frequented by feelings of sadness, longing and with unwelcomed changes in tradition.  Pray and trust your heart to make the adjustments.  Reach out to others who love you and look up! 

The following poem is shared every year this time, as a gift to the bereaved.  It is my hope and prayer that it comforts many.

“My First Christmas In Heaven”

I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below

With tiny lights, like Heaven’s stars reflecting on the snow.

The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away that tear,

For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear,

But the sounds of music can’t compare with the Christmas Choir here.

I have no words to tell you, the joy their voices bring,

For it is beyond description to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me; I see pain in your heart.

But I am not so far away, we really aren’t apart.

So be happy for me dear ones, you know I hold you dear.

And be glad I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I sent you each a special gift from my heavenly home above.

I sent you each a memory of my undying love.

After all, love is a gift more precious than pure gold.

It was always most important in the stories Jesus told.

Please love and keep each other, as my Father said to do.

For I can’t count the blessings or love He has for each of you.

So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away that tear.

Remember, I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year. 

                           Author Unknown

(Copies of poem available at Woods-Valentine Mortuary)

Gail Valentine Taylor, M.S.W.

Funeral Director

Woods-Valentine Mortuary

(626) 798-8941

email:  gailt@woodsvalentinemortuary.com

“Oops, I did it again” is a familiar lyric that applies to many of us when it comes to our “to do” lists.  We make resolutions with good intentions, but don’t follow through.  Maybe it should be “oops I didn’t do it, again.”  If you accomplished one significant goal that was on your 2009 list of resolutions, “kudos” to you. Hats off! Congrats! 

I know one thing that has remained on the list of many I talk to; that is, doing their funeral planning.  I often see people at church, at the market or at a social event, and it is not uncommon for someone to say “I need to come and see you.”  They want to either pre-plan for themselves or for a loved one.  It is easy to put this off, but the time is now, to gather your papers, thoughts, wishes and courage, and do this.  Take care of your funeral planning business in advance. It is a gift to those you love. 

At the very least you want to make sure there is enough life insurance to cover your funeral services: be it no service and cremation or a traditional church service with viewing and burial.  The costs of these services can range from approximately $1,800.00 to $12,000.00 or more.  It all depends on the choices you make. 

Are you prepared in the event a close family member dies without insurance?  Is your family prepared if you stepped out of the picture?  If your answer is no, you have an opportunity to get prepared now.  

Among the many benefits of pre-need funeral planning are:

it educates you on your options, what is required and re: what information is needed for records at the time.   

it helps you prepare for a cost that is inevitable and continues to rise.  Plans are available that allow you to pay monthly, that grow in interest.

 it relieves your loved ones of  added stress and strife, at time of passing.  This gives you both peace of mind now, knowing that these matters are taken care of.  

 it allows many of you to cross a significant item off of your “to do” list. 

Your mortuary counselor is knowledgeable and ready to guide you in your pre-planning.  Procrastinate no longer. Get around to it.  No more “Oops I didn’t do it, again.” Call your mortuary counselor today. 

Gail Valentine Taylor, M.S.W.

Funeral Director

Woods-Valentine Mortuary

1455 N. Fair Oaks Ave.

Pasadena, CA  91103

(626) 798-8941

gailt@woodsvalentinemortuary.com

When the pain of loss grips us we need help.  We reach out to friends, family and to our ministers for comfort and understanding.  Learning to cope with the loss of one we love is a process that can take months and even sometimes years.  Faith and hope is essential to get through it. 

Consider the following excerpt from the Care Notes Publication.  It is titled “How Prayer Can Help You in the Days After the Funeral” by Joel Schorn:  “The days after the funeral of a loved one are some of the most difficult of your life.  First you had to endure the death.  Then you had to go through the funeral, which was probably just as hard.  Now you have to face the days and weeks ahead, when feelings of sadness, shock, fear, and a new kind of loneliness are your daily companions.  Where can you turn at such a difficult time? 

You can turn to prayer. One of faith’s most enduring messages is that God is with us always.  By praying we remind ourselves of this.  Especially at this time God will draw close to you, says the psalmist: “The Lord is near to the broken-hearted.” (Psalm 34).  And so it’s possible to pray your way through these most difficult days. “

 There are many references in scripture about how much God loves and cares for His people.  Take your grief to God and look up from whence cometh your help. 

(Woods-Valentine Mortuary as well as other funeral homes, can refer you to local ministries for prayer.  We also have bereavement literature and information regarding local grief support groups.)

Gail Valentine Taylor, M.S.W.

Funeral Director

Woods-Valentine Mortuary

(626) 798-8941

Email: gailt@woodsvalentinemortuary.com