Our society has become increasingly mobile and, as a result, death away from home occurs more frequently.  By contacting your local funeral director first, you can ease the confusion and make more realistic decisions for the return of the deceased.  The staff of Hadley Funeral Home is professionally qualified to aid you during this traumatic experience and offer the following information, which you may find helpful.

When a death occurs...

• While traveling

            A card should be carried in the wallet indicating the names of the next of kin and the funeral director to be notified in the event of death.  This is extremely helpful since the number of deaths occurring while people are on vacation or traveling is increasing.

            The coroner or medical examiner would be involved if death is caused by a disaster.  They would coordinate the preparation and arrangements for returning the deceased with one of our staff.

• While in another community

           Many families are more transient now, than in the past, and move to another community or city but wish to be buried in their home area.  Family members can contact us at the time of death prior to making any arrangements, especially if transfer to the home area is desired for the funeral service.  Another option for the family is to pre-arrange with us before leaving the area.

           The casket is normally purchased at the funeral home where services or first visitation is conducted.  The vault is purchased from the funeral director arranging the burial.  If two funeral homes will be conducting services, everything should be coordinated through the home area funeral director.

• While outside the U.S.

           Officials in the foreign country will contact the U.S. Embassy in the country where the death occurred.   An official of the State Department in that country will contact the State Department in Washington, D.C. and they will notify the next of kin.  If word of the death is received before an official notice from Washington, you should contact your local funeral director.  We are well versed in the procedures required for returning the deceased to the U.S.  Depending on the country where the death occurred, it may take several weeks for the return of the body so patience is very important.

• While in the Armed Services

           The body will be prepared and casketed by the U.S. government when a person dies while serving in the Armed Forces.   The expenses from the place of death to the place of burial is paid for by the government. A uniform, an escort, and a flag will be provided and they will pay an allowance to help with the funeral and burial.  This allowance is based on where the service and burial takes place.  We at Hadley's are familiar with these allowances.

Regardless of where death occurs, we can arrange for transportation of the deceased.  Knowing that time is a very important factor for the survivors, air transportation is the best method.  However, if forwarding and receiving locations are not available, ground transpiration is available.  We can cooperate with the forwarding funeral director for the most convenient form of transportation according to the survivor's request.

Normally, we are responsible for seeing that a death certificate is completed and filed in the county where a person dies.  Upon filing the death certificate, we are issued a transit permit to transport the deceased person to the place chosen by the family for services and/or burial.

If you have other questions, call for an appointment or stop in during normal business hours.  A member of our staff will be happy to help you in any way possible.