Miles Johnson co-owns the Johnson Funeral Home with wife Erin. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
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Lately when people with a relative who’s died call Miles Johnson, he tells them funerals aren’t an option for now.
Johnson and other funeral directors are having to adapt to state restrictions that limit gatherings of people, intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Johnson Funeral Home in south Salem limits the number of people that come in for a viewing and in some instances livestreams services conducted in the firm’s chapel.
He said mourners have come in with masks and he’s streamed a funeral on Facebook with only the casket and no one physically attending.
Johnson said it was difficult tell families they would have to cancel planned funerals after Gov. Kate Brown’s order limiting gatherings of 25 or more people went into effect on March 16.
“That was the hardest time. People had their hearts set on something and I had to pull the rug on someone,” he said.
Johnson said normally families would hold a celebration of life or memorial at a church or in a relative’s home which isn’t an option right now with churches closed and residents avoiding unnecessary contact.
“We hope that the community is understanding that this isn’t our idea of how we want to handle things,” he said.
He is anticipating that families will wait until the restrictions lift to plan memorials or other celebrations.
In recent weeks, Johnson said he’s had more people call to arrange their own funerals.
“(The coronavirus) has inspired people who normally would not have called,” he said.
Tom Golden at Virgil T. Golden Funeral Services on Southeast Commercial Street has also been getting more calls from people arranging their own funerals.
Since the gathering restrictions have been in place, his funeral home has livestreamed several visitations and graveside services. The livestreams are by invitation only and one had 150 people viewing, Golden said.
He said the funeral home has also filmed an honors ceremony, showing the folding of the flags and playing of taps.
Inside the funeral home, only 10 people can come into the building at a time and there aren’t any services in the chapel.
“It’s a double whammy because this is a time where people welcome that support and hugs and personal contact with people and now it’s kind of been taken away during this time,” Golden said.
He said around 80% of the families who visit the funeral home opt for cremation. Both Johnson and Golden said that’s the norm in Salem.
Golden said he’s looking at creative ways to still offer services to families while accommodating the restrictions, such as a drive-in service where mourners remain in their cars.
“For us, we’re still trying to do what the family wants but we’re just having to do it in a different manner at this time,” he said.
Both funeral homes have handled arrangements for people who have died from COVID-19.
In Marion County 11 people have died from the coronavirus as of Thursday, April 16.
The World Health Organization on March 24 released guidelines on how to care for dead bodies, which included advising family members not to touch or kiss the deceased and for funeral homes to avoid embalming.
An empty casket sits in the Johnson Funeral Home on Thursday, April 16. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
Have a tip? Contact reporter Saphara Harrell at 503-549-6250, [email protected] or @daisysaphara.
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