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Whitmore & Sons Funeral Home

Lawson, Missouri. Serving Ray, Clay and Clinton counties since 1948.

Answered by one of us, at any hour (816) 555-0118

If a death has just occurred, here is what happens next.

Nothing has to be arranged tonight. But the first hour is different depending on where the person died, and that is the part nobody explains. Find the situation below, do those steps, then call us. We will do the rest of it with you tomorrow.

At home, expected

Under hospice or palliative care

  1. Call the hospice line first, not 911. A nurse comes and makes the pronouncement.
  2. There is no rush to move anyone. Sit with them as long as you want to.
  3. Call us when you are ready. We come to the house, day or night, two of us, quietly.
  4. Set aside the medications. The nurse will account for them before leaving.

At home, unexpected

No hospice involved

  1. Call 911. This is required, and it is not an accusation of anything.
  2. The county medical examiner takes charge and decides whether an autopsy is needed.
  3. Tell them which funeral home you want. Saying our name is all that is needed.
  4. We are released to collect only after the examiner clears it. That can be hours.

In a hospital

Or an emergency department

  1. The nursing staff will ask which funeral home. That is the only decision needed then.
  2. You may stay with them. Ask for as long as you need, and ask again if rushed.
  3. The hospital holds them until we arrive, which is usually within two hours.
  4. Take the personal belongings bag with you. It is easy to leave behind.

Away from home

Another state, or another country

  1. Call us before you agree to anything with a funeral home where the death occurred.
  2. We arrange the transfer, and we handle the paperwork that crossing a state line needs.
  3. Ask them for nothing but shelter and the death certificate. Everything else can wait.
  4. An out-of-state transfer typically takes three to six days. We will give you a real date.

Almost none of it is urgent.

Grief and a deadline are a bad combination, and the trade has a long habit of putting them together. Here is what actually has a clock on it and what does not.

  • Has a clock. Whether there will be a viewing, since that decides whether embalming happens, and that is a decision within about 24 hours.
  • Has a clock. A veteran's burial at a national cemetery, because the schedule is set by the cemetery and not by us.
  • No clock. The casket or the urn. You can choose it four days from now.
  • No clock. The obituary. Papers will run it whenever you file it.
  • No clock. The service itself. Two weeks out is common and nothing is lost by it.
  • No clock. The headstone. Most families order one months later, and that is normal rather than a delay.
Provisional photograph. The chapel from the Doniphan Street side, taken in the afternoon, the doors open.

We hold about 90 seated in the chapel, and there is a side room with a door for anyone who needs to step out. There is no charge for using either.

Three things can happen, and they cost very different amounts.

Families are often steered toward the middle option without ever being shown the ends of the range. All three are set out here, including the one that earns us the least.

Ranges include our charges only. Cemetery, cremation permit and newspaper fees are listed separately below.
  Burial Cremation Body donation
What physically happens Preparation, a casket, a graveside or chapel service, then interment in a plot you own or buy. Cremation at a licensed facility, then the ashes returned to you in whatever you choose. The body goes to a medical school or a research programme. Ashes are usually returned later.
How soon Typically 3 to 7 days. Missouri requires a 24 hour wait and a signed permit. Usually 4 to 6 days total. Acceptance is decided within hours, and it can be refused. Have a second plan.
Can there still be a service Yes, with the person present. Yes, either before the cremation or as a memorial after it. Yes, but as a memorial only, and usually weeks later.
Our charges $4,900 to $8,400 $1,750 to $4,100 $395 to $850
What else you will pay Plot, opening and closing, vault, marker. Commonly $2,500 to $5,000 more. Crematory fee and permit, $395. An urn if you want one from us. Usually nothing. Most programmes pay the transport.

The general price list, in full, on the page.

Federal law has required funeral homes to hand you this list since 1984, and to let you buy any single item on it without buying the rest. Almost nobody publishes it. Here it is, and you are welcome to take it to the funeral home in the next town and compare.

Basic services of the funeral director and staffNon-declinable. Covers the arrangement conference, filing the death certificate, the permits and being available around the clock.
$2,195
Transfer of remains to the funeral homeWithin 30 miles. $3.25 a mile beyond that.
$425
EmbalmingNot required by law. Required by us only if there will be a public viewing.
$895
Other preparation, dressing and casketingIncludes cosmetics and hairdressing.
$285
Use of facilities and staff for a visitationPer day, up to four hours.
$495
Use of facilities and staff for a chapel service
$595
Staff for a graveside serviceWaived when a chapel service is held the same day.
$395
HearseWithin 30 miles.
$395
Service vehicle or family car
$175
Direct cremation, with a container you supply
$1,595
Direct cremation, with our alternative container
$1,750
Immediate burial, with a casket you supply
$2,050
Forwarding remains to another funeral home
$2,450
Receiving remains from another funeral home
$2,150
CasketsTwenty on hand, cloth-covered through solid walnut. You may buy a casket anywhere and we will not charge you a handling fee for it, which is also the law.
$1,095 to $9,400
Urns
$95 to $1,250
Certified copies of the death certificateState fee, passed through at cost. Order more than you think. Six is usually right.
$14 each

Veterans are entitled to a flag, a government marker and burial in a national cemetery at no cost, and to a plot allowance in some cases. We file that paperwork for you and we do not charge for filing it. Bring the discharge papers if you can find them. If you cannot, we can request them.

What we will ask you for, so you can look for it now.

The death certificate is a state form and it wants specific facts. Families often spend a frustrating evening hunting for two of them, so here is the whole list in advance.

For the certificate

  • Full legal name, including any name changed by marriage
  • Date and place of birth, city and state
  • Social security number
  • Father's full name
  • Mother's full name including her maiden name
  • Highest grade or degree completed
  • Usual occupation and the kind of business, even if long retired
  • Marital status, and the surviving spouse's name
  • Home address at the time of death

For everything else

  • Discharge papers, the DD-214, for a veteran
  • Cemetery deed, if a plot is already owned
  • Any prepaid funeral contract, from us or from anyone
  • Life insurance policies, which can often be assigned to cover our bill directly
  • Clothing, including shoes if you want them, and any jewellery to be worn or returned
  • A recent photograph, for the obituary and for us to work from
  • The names of anyone who should be telephoned before it is public

You can call before anything has happened.

A good share of the calls we take are from people whose mother is still alive and who want to know what it will cost and how it will go. That is not a strange call to make and it is not one we charge for. Ask whatever you want to ask.

Call (816) 555-0118 Any hour, and a person rather than a service.

412 N Doniphan St, Lawson, MO 64062
Office open Monday to Friday, 9 to 4. The chapel is open whenever a family needs it.