Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You conduct an open-casket service.
You decide the family should get what they want. You have informed them of the situation and they know the options. That's the most important thing. You do your best with the body.
The service goes well and the family and friends get to have one last glimpse of their loved one at rest. Unfortunately, the appearance of the corpse disturbs several of the people who attend, and they leave before the service is over.
A few months after the service, the father and the sister come to see you. They tell you they were wrong. Whenever they try to think of their lost relative, they can only remember his horribly burned body. They didn't want to remember him that way.
Nancy Stirling is the executive administrator of a funeral service association. She says funeral directors constantly make decisions based on information received from the friends and family of the deceased.
Decisions must be made regarding "what to suggest, where to go from here, when to call in other people [and] when to involve social services," says Stirling.