National Cemetery, Catholic Cemetery & Funeral Home COVID-19 Regulations

These uncertain times have resulted in life-altering changes and sacrifices.

Some have lost their jobs, others have closed down their businesses, and everyone has been forced to practice social distancing as we try to reduce the community spread of the Coronavirus. These changes are also having a huge impact on the way we plan funerals and bury our loved ones.


In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf issued a proclamation limiting the number of people gathered to 10 at a time. This will temporarily change the way we grieve together as families and as a community. This virus and these regulations will make it impossible for all of our friends and family to gather, to offer their support, to hug the grieving, and to gently wipe away their tears.

This will also change the way we make funeral arrangements. This process typically takes 60 to 90 minutes and will now be limited to four people. For those families who want to limit the time of the person-to-person meeting, we will offer to make the majority of the arrangements over the telephone, with the assistance of email and our website. For the items that we will or may need, we can make arrangements to pick them up or have them delivered to the funeral home.

We will also face limitations on the way services can be conducted at cemeteries. For example, this week we were notified of the following cemetery restrictions:

• The Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery currently remains open for burials.
• However, committal services and the rendering of funeral honors will not be conducted. Immediate family members, limited to 10 or less, may witness the interment at a safe distance.
• The Catholic Cemeteries Association will continue its mission to bury the dead and care for their resting places.
• Effective immediately, all committal services for ground burial will be serviced at graveside and limited to no more than 10 people;
•  Mausoleum chapels will only be available for committal services in which the deceased is to be entombed or placed within a niche in that particular building. In this case, the committal services will be limited to no more than 10 people.
• No more than three people will be permitted to participate in burial conferences at any of the diocesan offices.

We, at the Thompson-Marodi Funeral Home, will do our best to make this transition easier, as we take the following precautions:

• All services will be private in accordance with the CDC guidelines. We will limit the number of people to no more than 10;
• If the family requests private services be held at a church or other facility, attendance will be subject to the church or facility’s policy;
• We will discuss and assist the family in scheduling a public memorial service at a later date;
• We will ask everyone to keep in mind social distancing, the 6-foot rule;
• We will, of course, discourage anyone who is ill from visiting the funeral home;
• Although we have always maintained clean and sanitary restrooms and facilities, we will increase our efforts to disinfect and sanitize the restrooms, door knobs, and frequently-touched surfaces.
• We will also record the funeral services for those who aren’t able to attend. The video will be posted on the funeral home’s website. Live streaming to the funeral home’s Facebook page will be offered, but the results will depend on the local internet connection. There will be no additional charge for this service.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us at 724-239-2255 or by emailing the funeral home at Thompson-Marodi Funeral Home, Inc.


This article was written by Randi Marodi of the Thompson-Marodi Funeral Home, Inc. 809 Main Street, Bentleyville, PA