When a Death Occurs

For immediate assistance please contact us at 251.621.5890 day or night.

 

No matter if a death is imminent or totally unexpected, we can find ourselves unprepared to navigate the tasks that must be done.  Assisting you with these tasks is one of the most important parts of what we do.

Following are some guidelines to follow when a loved one dies. 

When Death Occurs at Home 

If the deceased was under a doctor’s care, call us immediately at 251.621.5890 

If a death is accidental or unexpected, it’s important that you also call 911 before your loved one is moved out of the home. 

In Supervised Care 

If your loved one was in supervised care, such as a hospital or nursing home at the time of death, the facilities staff will immediately notify you and the authorities.  

Hughes Funeral Home will also be notified if you’ve let the facility know you’ll be working with us. One of our funeral directors will contact you immediately to help you proceed. 

Your first call should be to the hospice program if your loved one was in their care. A representative will provide you with the instructions and procedures for moving forward. A coroner or medical examiner may also be notified by the hospice program. 

After release from the hospice’s care, Hughes Funeral Home will be contacted if you have listed us as your funeral home of choice. 

Know that through every step we provide compassionate guidance after the death of a loved one. Initially, you will want to review any of your loved one’s preplanned funeral wishes and meet with a Hughes Funeral Director to begin planning their service. 

If your loved one did not pre-plan their funeral, you will discuss and arrange the Final Services of your loved one with our Licensed Funeral Directors.

What to Expect when we meet

We provide guidance but this is your service. Your ideas and desires are used as the foundation for the arrangement process.  We will also provide you with a general price list to give you a basic idea of what our services cost.

Our Funeral Director will assist you with:

Choosing the type of funeral   Learn More 

Selecting a casket, urn, or other items  See Catalogs    

Choosing a funeral package     View Packages    

Veterans Information  Learn More 

 Preparing and filing the official death certificate 

Scheduling the location, date, and time of services or events     

Deciding on Burial or Cremation 

Choice of Clergy or Celebrant     

Designing Orders of Service and other tribute memories   

Preparing an obituary notice  

You will also sign necessary authorizations or plan to have them signed by the appropriate family members.  

Be assured; we provide transparency on all costs & fees.  

What to Bring to the Arrangement Conference

Full name and home address

Essential personal items

Social Security number

Date and place of birth and death

Full names of parents ( Mother’s maiden name)

Veteran’s discharge papers DD214

Years of schooling completed

Occupation

Cemetery information (if applicable)

Jewelry, or other items of significance

Recent photo and clothing for dressing

Obituary information

Insurance policy information (if applicable)

Thank you for your arrangements to cremate our brother. Mr. Hughes, you graciously offered to send one of your employees to Mobile to assist our loved one in completing a form to make his wishes known. A lovely lady appeared and professionally interacted with our brother to be sure that his final wishes were secured. This employee was the perfect blend of poise and compassion. We found your gesture very comforting as our brother’s last few weeks slipped away.

Your employees, who met us at your beautiful facility were patient, efficient, but never made us feel rushed to make decisions on the details of the cremation. We are sure that all the behind the scenes employees are equally competent and compassionate. Overall, your entire staff was a pleasure to work with and we would readily recommend your facility to others we know.       In Appreciation,

The Gates Family