SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News)– As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the country, hardships have now spread to local funeral homes, affecting their services. The Thomas J. Pirro Funeral Home has decided to move their services to online only, according to owner and operator Thomas J. Pirro Jr.
“What we’re doing now is that people that want to have a funeral service can invite people remotely. We’re offering them to stream the funeral service, whether it be at the funeral home or at a church,” Pirro Jr. said.
Members of the deceased’s immediate family are still allowed to be present for a private visitation.
While funerals will now be drastically altered for the foreseeable future, Pirro Jr. said this was an obvious decision in order to keep people safe.
However, the grieving process for many will be heavily affected.
“Embracing people is part of the grieving process, so it has become a lot more difficult for people to grieve the loss of their loved one,” Pirro Jr. said.
Pirro Jr. said that many families have gone forward in choosing the streaming service, but there is an option for families to move funerals back to a later date for an in-person service.
