It is the customary way to recognize death and its finality. Funerals are recognized rituals for the living to show respect for the dead and to help survivors begin the grief process.

Funeral directors are caregivers and administrators. They make the arrangements for transportation of the deceased human remains, complete all necessary paperwork, and implement the choices made by the family regarding the funeral and final disposition of the deceased human remains. Funeral directors also link survivors with support groups at the funeral home or in the community. All Baue Funeral Directors receive regular, professional training on all aspects of funeral service.

Viewing is part of many cultural and ethnic traditions. Many grief specialists believe that viewing aids the grief process by helping the bereaved recognize the reality of death. Viewing is encouraged for children, as long as the process is explained and the activity voluntary.

Yes. A person who dies of an AIDS-related illness is entitled to the same service options afforded to anyone else. If public viewing is consistent with local or personal customs, that option is encouraged. Touching the deceased's face or hands is perfectly safe. Baue Grief Service Directors are specifically trained in this area.

Because the grief experienced by survivors may include a variety of feelings, survivors may need even more support than survivors of non-AIDS-related deaths.

In 1998 the average charge for an adult, full-service funeral, was $5,020. This includes a professional service charge, transfer of remains, embalming, other preparation, use of viewing facilities, use of facilities for ceremony, hearse, limousine, and casket. (The casket included in this price was an 18-gauge steel casket with velvet interior which may or may not be the most common casket chosen. Vault, cemetery and monument charges are additional). (Source: 1999 NFDA Survey of Funeral Home Operations)

Funeral costs have increased no faster than the consumer price index for other consumer items. The following figures show increases over the last 15 years for an adult, full-service funeral from NFDA surveys from 1991 to 1998.

*See question above for what is included in these costs

When compared to other major life cycle events, like births and weddings, funerals are not expensive. A wedding costs at least three times as much; but because it is a happy event, wedding costs are rarely criticized.

A funeral home is a 24-hour, labor-intensive business, with extensive facilities (viewing rooms, chapels, limousines, hearses, etc.), these expenses must be factored into the cost of a funeral.

Moreover, the cost of a funeral includes not only merchandise, like caskets, but the services of a funeral director in making arrangements; filing appropriate forms; dealing with doctors, ministers, florists, newspapers and others; and seeing to all the necessary details.

Contrary to popular belief, funeral homes are largely family-owned with a modest profit margin.

The Baue Family has been serving the St. Louis area since 1935, for three generations.

Funeral service is regulated by the FTC and state licensing boards. In most cases, the consumer should discuss problems with the funeral director first.

If the dispute cannot be solved, the consumer may wish to contact the Funeral Service Consumer Assistance Program. FSCAP provides information, mediates disputes, provides arbitration, and maintains a consumer guarantee fund for reimbursement of services rendered. (To contact FSCAP, call 708-827-6337 or 800-662-7666).

Other than the family, there are veteran, union, and other organizational benefits to pay for funerals, including, in certain instances, a lump sum death payment from Social Security. In most states, some form of public aid allowances are available from either the state, county, or city or a combination.

Baue funeral directors are aware of the various benefits and know how to obtain them for the indigent. However, Baue Funeral Homes has always absorbed costs above and beyond what is provided by agencies to insure the deceased a respectable burial.

Baue Funeral Directors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you request immediate assistance, yes. If the family wishes to spend a short time with the deceased to say good bye, it's acceptable. They will come when convenient for the family.

Yes, Baue can assist you with out-of-state arrangements, either to transfer the deceased human remains to another state or from another state.

Baue Funeral Directors will help gather the necessary information to apply for financial assistance from Social Security, Veteran's, retirements and any others.

Cremation Q&A 

No, cremation is an alternative to earth burial or entombment for the body's final disposition and often follows a traditional funeral service. According to FTC figures for 1999, direct cremation occurred in 25% of deaths in the U.S..

Yes, quite often some sort of viewing precedes the actual cremation. Baue Funeral Home can assist you with the necessary information for a funeral with a cremation following or a memorial service.

Embalming Q&A 

Embalming sanitizes and preserves the deceased human remains, retards the decomposition process, and enhances the appearance of deceased human remains disfigured by traumatic death or illness.

Embalming makes it possible to lengthen the time between death and the final disposition, thus allowing family members time to arrange and participate in the type of service most comforting to them.

No. The state of Missouri, however, requires embalming when death was caused by a reportable contagious disease or when remains are to be transported from one state to another by common carrier or if final disposition is not to be made within a prescribed number of hours.

Cemetery Q&A 

While it is true some metropolitan areas have limited available cemetery space, in St. Charles County, there is enough space set aside for the next 100 years without creating new cemeteries. In addition, land available for new cemeteries is more than adequate, especially with the increase in entombment and multi-level grave burial.