Alright Clutchfans, got a new one for you. I have been asked to be one of the Pallbearers for a funeral. It is for the daughter of my mom's friend. She was very young and died in a car accident. Anyway, any advice as to what to expect? How heavy it is, and anything else is appreciated.
I've done it way too often in my life. It's not really going to be heavy, just be careful with it and your footing.
The folks from the funeral home will be there to walk you through it. The weight thing isn't really a factor.
The last couple of funerals I've been to, I've noticed that the pall bearer thing has become more and more ceremonial and less actually carrying the casket. I can't guarantee it, but the funeral home will probably wheel the casket at every possible time and you will walk along side of it. The only time you will probably actually need to carry it is at the grave site itself. Physically, its not a big deal. As said before, just watch your footing. Most pallbearers are chosen because they are close enough to care, but far enough away to not emotionally break down. Confirm with yourself that you will be able to hold it together emotionally.
I have done it a few times. Nothing to worry about. The weight will be insignificant unless you fall into a situation like we did with my grandmother. It was me and several cousins and we had to carry the casket to the car, to a pavilion then to the grave. The grave was a long walk from the sidewalk near the pavilion and the ground was sloppy wet. It took us forever to get there because we kept having to go really slow to keep from falling. After a while the casket just seemed heavy. Other than that issue though the other times I have done it it was nothing.
Dang, worst job I ever did was for my roomates mother.....sucks....it is not hard though....at least physically. DD
They do ask, but most turn it down. I was just a pall bearer at my Uncles funeral who died of cancer back in June. They only tricky part was carrying it to the grave while trying to dodge other headstones.
As others have said its pretty easy. The funeral guys walk you trough everything beforehand and are right there with you the whole time. And as SuperMac mentioned, they wheeled the casket on a cart for the longer distances.
This explains it well. With this being the funeral of a child, emotions will be extremely high. Good luck and my thoughts go out to the family.
If there are six of you guys, it shouldn't be too much of a problem as compared to a fully grown adult. I think there are usually six guys. I've only done it once. It wasn't rainy, but the ground was a little soaked. We carried it from the hearse to the plot which was maybe 30 yards.
As others have said, they'll walk you through it, so nothing to worry about there. And as Kam said, it should be lighter due to it not being an adult (seems kind of blunt to say it like that....apologies). I've carried two of my grandmothers and my grandfather. One was very light, the others very heavy, and we had the most pallbearers on the two that were so heavy. I think it mostly has to do with the casket itself as to how heavy it is, so make sure your grip is good and watch your footing and you'll be fine. RIP
I did it for my grandfather's funeral ~2 years ago. It's not heavy and they'll walk you through everything beforehand. Just don't step on another pallbearer's feet in front of you. It can get crowded if there are enough of them.
Yeah, they actually had a half hour class beforehand last time I did it. They said it was a liability thing. Guess some poor b*stard fell in the grave.
Thanks a lot fellas, you really took some pressure off of me. She wasn't a young child, she was 27. She had three kids, and I was composing myself emotionally very well, until I saw them crying. It just broke my heart.
I sincerely thought you wanted me to be your "Hucklebeary." EDIT: I can't clearly tell if you're going to do it today, or if you've already done it. I guess the below advice is for future reference if the latter. If it is a long walk from the rosary place to the gravesite, people will help even though they're not pallbearers. It might be that you will be asked to help, because the other six have been chosen, but they may not be as strong to carry until the end, or you might begin the trek, but they will end it. At my cousin's funeral, I and lots of us helped A LONG WAY because MANY COUSINS wanted to help. Drink plenty of fluids so you don't faint or cause harm to yourself and others, sir.
I was a pallbearer at a funeral in the country a couple years ago and we had to actually put the casket in the grave. Similar to what you posted, from the car to the grave site was a bit of a walk.
Yeah... I got chosen to be a pallbearer at my great grandmother's funeral... i was 14 at the time, but looked more 16-17 in size... it was the first funeral i had ever been to... and i was really close to her... i didn't understand the concept of death very well... i couldn't really keep it together while we carried the casket.... made it hard, on a lot of levels... i wasn't ready for it at that age.
