Livestreamed Services Catch On At Funeral Homes, But Slowly

[Sherman A1]

Livestreams have allowed people with compromised immune systems or out-of-town family members and friends to safely attend funerals during the coronavirus pandemic.

St. Louis-area funeral homes started offering to livestream services in April as capacity limits and social distancing reduced the number of people who could attend services.

Funeral directors now say the technology will become a permanent fixture in the industry.

“It's a regular part of our repertoire now,” said Dan Flynn, general manager of Jay B Smith Funeral Homes in south county.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/coronavirus/2020-11-25/funeral-homes-invest-more-in-livestreamed-services-but-its-slowly-catching-on

[tanyev]

1. It's a wonderful service.

A dear friend of my husband's died a couple months ago in Canada. Even without the pandemic, it's unlikely we could have made it there for the funeral. But it meant a lot to my husband to be able to watch the funeral online.

[Siwsan]

2. That's how many of us 'attended' my friend's funeral

Unfortunately, the audio was horrible and the visual only slightly better. I think the funeral home is probably still refining the process.

[safeinOhio]

3. I usually attend a couple of zoom meetings a week.

I agree, the tech needs lots of upgrades.

[kimbutgar]

4. I saw a funeral months ago of a friend of my fathers who lived in Alabama

I would have not gone to the funeral but it was a nice way to honor him and say goodbye.

[Archae]

5. My Mom's funeral last month was like this, mostly.

Just us family members, (and we were masked,) were there.

The video is still at the funeral home's website.