The Final Talk - Out of State Deaths
Hi, I’m Kevin Gray, president of Star of David Chapels. Today, I’d like to talk about how we handle matters when a family calls to inquire about what to do when a loved one living outside of New York is expected to pass away.
Because our funeral chapels are located so near to the major Jewish cemeteries on Long Island, a great deal of the services we handle are for people who’ve passed away in another state and need to be transferred back to New York for burial on Long Island where they have a cemetery plot. When a death occurs in a state that’s too far for us to get to in a timely manner, we simply reach out to a colleague we trust and have worked with in the past to handle the local transfer from place of passing. We then direct our colleague to secure the permit needed to fly human remains from one state to another, coordinate and secure the flight to New York where we receive the remains at one of the local airports here. We then carry out whatever arrangements we’ve made with the family we’re assisting.
Depending upon the state where death has occurred determines how quickly we can receive the remains. If it’s, say, Florida, things move rather quickly, and we can usually have a decedent the day of or day after the passing. In states out west, things may take a bit longer. We always strive to receive the remains here in New York as quickly as possible in order to give our families the option to have a service as soon as they might want. Allowing us to handle matters from start to finish not only ends up costing less than when a family engages two different funeral homes, it also gives a family peace of mind that one call at any hour to Star of David will be all that’s needed when the need arises. Remember, when the need arises, we’ll be the only ones you need.