The funeral service embodies our instinctive wish to honor our loved ones and to comfort the bereaved, symbolizing the beliefs of a culture, its hopes, its ideals, and its spiritual concepts. But most importantly, the funeral is a crucial part of the process by which the bereaved begin to adjust to a way of life that has been abruptly altered. If you are the one to whom your family may look to for leadership or assistance at such a time, you will want to be as well prepared as possible.