Healy Chapel

It may seem weird to review a funeral home. I certainly have never reviewed one before. But it’s something everyone will need at some point. And it may be something you need for someone you love.
Years ago, I went to my best friend’s mom’s viewing & funeral at Healey Chapel. I remember thinking how nice it was without being stuffy or over the top. A couple of years later, her dad’s services were just as nice.
When my brother died several years ago, we had his services here. Because I was in Austin, I missed out on the heavy duty planning stuff that my mom & sister handled. It was a blur. Do I remember much? Nope. Do I remember it was nice & my brother would have liked it? Yes. What I should have remembered I didn’t recall until a visit to Healey this morning. A very sweet memory.
My sister & I met with funeral director Matt Darling today to discuss pre-​planning our mom’s services. Not really a fun thing to do on vacation. But it’s something that has to be done because mom can’t plan for herself anymore.
Matt brought up some details from my brother’s services and then it clicked. My brother was a sports fan. That’s a huge understatement. He was buried in his beloved Chicago Bears sweatshirt holding his ratty worn out White Sox ball cap. So what Matt triggered in my memory bank and made me tear up this morning was his leading a chorus of «take me out to the ballgame» at the end of my brother’s service. Sounds kinda weird, but it was really perfect and it brought some levity to a very difficult time. Everyone in attendance sang along & thought it was the perfect send off, too.
Back to today’s visit. Matt was so professional without being stuffy. He is great at what he does — helping people during their most difficult times. We were able to get answers to all of our questions, pick out things we want for mom & left knowing what other things we need to do with the cemetery and others. I know when the time comes, mom’s services will be exactly what she expressed in the past & we won’t have to deal with these details when we’re grieving.