Funeral home offers drive-thru viewing

SAGINAW, Mich. — A funeral home here has just added an unusual new convenience for mourners — a drive-thru viewing window.

The Saginaw News reports Paradise Funeral Chapel has installed a window that displays a body set up in a special area inside the building with a raised and tilted platform for the casket.

Curtains over the window automatically open when a car pulls up, and mourners get three minutes to view a body as music plays overhead.

There also a deposit opening for leaving donations, cars or memory items. And behind a door is a retractable guest book that drive thru mourners can sign.

President Ivan Phillips says he is trying particularly to be sensitive to the needs of the elderly, who may have mobility problems that make it difficult to get into the building or who may be afraid of funeral homes.

He says his drive-through allows people who might not otherwise visit the funeral home to honor the deceased.

Phillips says it's up to each family to decide if they want to use the window as part of a funeral viewing. For those who do, the drive-up window is only used when indoor visitation is not taking place, he said, and the viewing area can not be seen from the inside of the funeral home.

His business also offers a silver, horse-drawn carriage to bring the dead to nearby cemeteries.

At least three other U.S. funeral homes offer drive-thru service.