FUNERAL AND FINAL EXPENSE PRE-PLANNING
By Eugene A. Luciw, J.D.

As our readers have seen, Providence has selectively partnered with several Pennsylvania-based funeral directors, in order to help our readers and members better to plan for inevitable events. Providence is satisfied that its partners will handle your family pre-planning needs professionally, sympathetically, and in a manner tailored to our unique Ukrainian traditions. It is also satisfied that its Single Pay and Annuity products are marvelous vehicles for funding the burial trusts that we should all be establishing for ourselves and our loved ones through the services of a professional funeral director.

Below is a listing of Providence’s Ukrainian funeral director business partners in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

IN THE PHILADELPHIA METROPOLITAN AREA:

	Fletcher-Nasevich Funeral Home  9529 Bustleton Avenue Philadelphia, Pa 19115 215-673-8153 fletchernasevich@aol.com
Michael Nasevich, F.D., Owner			CharlieTaggart, F.D.,Supervisor
IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY, PA:
Kohut Funeral Home, Inc. 950 North Front St  Allentown, PA 18102 610.433.7466		Downing Funeral Home, Inc. 1002 West Broad Street Bethlehem, PA 18018 610.867.5841
Stephen R. Kohut, F.D. Jason J. Hennigh, F.D., Supervisor www.kohutfuneralhome.com			Garrett W. Wood, F.D., Supervisor   www.downingfuneralhome.com
IN THE GREATER PITTSBURGH AREA:
Valerian F. Szal Funeral Home, Inc. 238 Helen Street McKees Rocks, PA 15136 412.331.9713 info@szalfuneralhome.com Michael P. Ferrell, F.D., Supervisor		John J. Gmiter Funeral Home, Ltd. 119 S. 15th Street Pittsburgh, PA 15203
			www.gmiterfuneralhome.com John E. Kirk, F.D., Supervisor

Funeral Preplanning
by Charlie Taggart

Pre-Planning your funeral

Funeral planning is something that will be done, to some extent, at least once by everyone. In many cases it is done by a family member after a individual has passed on. This burden is often difficult for a loved one as they are trying to sort out their emotions and deal with their loss. Making funeral arrangements in advance greatly reduces this burden.

If you find yourself hesitant to pre-arrange your funeral, even with the best intentions, you are not alone. We all know intellectually that death is inevitable, and planning for and discussing it can be difficult, however, wouldn’t it be better to plan ahead, calmly and sensibly, when you are in a normal mental and physical state, having full ability to reason and discuss your arrangements and wishes with your family?

Pre-arranging a funeral makes sense, by doing so you are relieving loved ones of a financial burden, protecting assets from nursing home, federal, and state expenses , as well as assuring yourself and your loved ones peace of mind now and at the time of need.

Charles Taggart is a licensed Funeral Director in the State of Pennsylvania with over 20 yrs experience in funeral service.