segs@mhuxv.UUCP (slusky) (01/31/85)
I had the unfortunate experience of having to be responsible for putting together and paying for a funeral yesterday. For a variety of reasons, the funeral had to be in New York . I suppose that guarantees that the funeral home will charge top dollar, but still I was outraged at many of the charges. The ritual charges, chevra kadisha, shroud, etc, were reasonable. But here are some of the ones that threw me: Service Fee - general use $495 of funeral home personnel Arrangements and super- vision. Transfer of body from $165 hospital to funeral home (about 10 mi.) Hearse for coffin from $150 funeral home to cemetery (also about 10 mi.) Use of room for chevra $260 kadisha to work in Plain pine coffin $395 Has anyone else done this lately? Is it as crazy as I think? Comparing the transportation charges to the cost of a private limousine to an airport, for example, the coffin transport charges seem totally out of whack. And the $495 at the top seems totally baseless. Susan Slusky --