When A Death Occurs
When a death occurs, the order in which things need to be done often depends on where the death occurred. But, one thing should always be remembered: our staff is available to assist you 24 hours day or night by calling 512-260-8800. Also, contacting Wrench ahead of the time of need, will allow you to ask the important question and get answers.
At Home or at Work
When a death occurs at home, a family member should contact emergency personnel and the person's physician if he or she was under a doctor's care. If the death occurs at home with family or friends present, and the person is under a physician's care or hospice care, the family will need to let them know you are using Wrench.
However, if the death occurs in a residence and no one is there at the time of death, the police will need to be notified and respond to the residence before the deceased is removed from their home. Let the Justice of the Peace or police know at that time if you are using Wrench Funeral Home. You have the right to select any funeral home for services or transport of your loved one.
If in any case you are not sure of who to notify or what to do, you may call Wrench Funeral Home and Cremations, and we'll assist you in notifying the proper agencies.
While Under Supervised Care
When a death occurs in a care facility, such as a hospital, hospice facilty or nursing home, the professional staff will notify you of and the necessary authorities of the passing. If the name of the funeral home has been left with them, the institution will notify Wrench at the time of the death. Our funeral director will contact you immediately following their notification to help you proceed. (However, please know you contact the Wrench Funeral Home anytime if you have questions).
If a loved one was in the care of a hospice program, a hospice representative will give family members instructions and procedures to follow. Following their release the hospice nurse will contact Wrench, so we can take your loved one into our care. It is always a good idea for the family to contact us immediately so that we will be aware of the pending call from hospice.
Widening the Circle
At Wrench our staff members are experienced professionals who can provide much of the information you need, emotional support and compassionate guidance.
While you may ask the director any questions at this time, you will be able to discuss the arrangements in detail later when you meet in person. During this initial call, the funeral director will gather information to be able to transport your loved one to the funeral home.
The funeral director may ask you several questions, including whether your loved one made any pre-arrangements. The director will also schedule a date and time for you to meet at the funeral home and will let you know what you should bring with you. Others you will need to call are:
- Family members and friends
- Clergy or other spiritual advisors
Those Important Questions
If there is no pre-plan in place, there are several other questions that you may have to have answered in regards to the death of your loved one:
- Did your loved one want a funeral or cremation?
- Did they want a visitation?
- Where would like like to hold the service? Who will conduct the service?
- Do you know where you will have a burial of the casket or cremains?
- What type of service would you like? Traditional, simple or something in between?
By contacting the Wrench staff, we'll be able to help answer your questions and assist in making the appropriate plans. You can reach us at (512) 260-8800.
However, as we’ve said before, one of the best ways to make sure that all of your questions and desires are taken care of is to make pre-arrangements. This is as simple as outlining your wishes to having all of the details written down and the financial arrangements prepaid. Please contact one of our staff at (512) 260-8800 to learn more about pre-planning.
What to Expect When You Arrive at Wrench Funeral Home
Our compassionate staff will guide you through the entire arrangement process, explaining how you can create a memorable personal celebration of your loved one's life. This is not a one-way conversation; we want to hear your ideas and desires, and use them as the foundation for the arrangement process.
This process may include:
- Preparing and filing the official death certificate
- Scheduling the location, date and time of services or events
- Selecting a casket, urn or other items
- Preparing an obituary notice
- Scheduling vehicles
- Selecting pallbearers
You may also sign necessary authorizations or make arrangements to have them signed by the appropriate family members.
We’d like you to bring any photos, a favorite song, or memorabilia so that we can better discuss how you would like your loved one to be remembered. Having these things, and knowing their favorite song or favorite gathering place – even their favorite activity – will help us create a truly fitting memorial service.
Our staff will assist you in planning a loving tribute that captures the spirit of the person whose life you wish to honor. To learn more about personalizing the service, please read the Honoring Life section of this Web site. Our director will discuss personalization with you during your arrangement conference.
The following checklist will help you remember what information about the decedent and items will be needed when meeting with a funeral arranger.
- Full legal name
- Home address
- Social Security number
- Date of birth
- Place of birth
- Father's name
- Mother's maiden name
- Veteran's discharge papers (DD-214)
- Recent Photograph
- Highest education
- Occupation
- Place of burial (if applicable)
- Clothing
- Clergy name and phone number
- Survivors (name and relationship)
- Insurance policies (if applicable)
A staff member of Wrench Funeral Home and Cremations will be honored to explain all of the options available to you. If you select a funeral or cremation service, our experts are always here for you 24 hours everyday. Call 512-260-8800.