1H

Deaths and Funerals

When serious sickness overtook someone in the community, the first hurdle was to ask a doctor to come to the house. If the prognosis was not good, the doctor would suggest that the priest be summoned. This was the usual way of being informed that the family member was dying. When death occurred, a couple of the neighbors came to wash and prepare the body for the wake. Coffins were normally purchased locally from the parish or from a local merchant. Bodies were rarely embalmed, and cosmetics were not used on the remains.

The wake was held in the family home or, if that was not large enough, in