How do I choose the best funeral home?

A Google search and examination of each firm’s facilities really doesn’t tell you what you need to know. Ask the funeral home or funeral service if it has access to a refrigerated space in which to store your loved one’s body (this will significantly slow the body’s decomposition without any need to embalm). Ask if the funeral home stocks earth-friendly caskets. Choose a family-owned firm with a collaborative vibe, not a corporate “this is the way we do things” ethos. Select a firm that offers the services of secular/interfaith celebrants as well clergy if that’s your family’s style. 

Ask the director which one of her (or his) funerals has been remarkable or a particular favorite. True, you are grieving and the funeral you are planning may not have been expected, but your best investigative reporting skills are now needed, and you’ll get better service if you discover what drives the firm and enlivens the staff there. Look for an establishment that employs women and puts them out front. The funeral industry was dominated by men for many decades, and women have most recently been real change agents.