Update - July 15, 2007

Update July 15, 2007

A few things to update all of you on some things:

Mom’s Weekend: Uneventful. More of the same. Morris visited on Sunday. Good spirits and seems alert and stronger than the last time we saw her.

Mom’s Eye: Her right eye continues to be red but improving with drops.

Mom’s Car: Greenville Auto tax was paid by Jane or Eileen and the new decal is on the car. I’m not sure we have the correct registration certificate in the car. The old one looks different than the new one so I’m going to call the tax collector to make sure we have the right document . The insurance card is in the car. Morris is upgrading the insurance on the car to include liability; I’m a bit confused but I think he only had collision or something like that.

Garbage Can: Moved the garbage cans to the garage. Maggie has difficulty getting down the kitchen stairs and then getting it up to the street – easier from the garage and up the driveway. FYI – Friday is garbage day. Roy says he’d be happy to take care of if Maggie has trouble with it (so far, I don’t think she does so Roy can be a back-up)

Summer Kitchen and Family Room Stuff (+ Morris’s clothes): Didn’t make any progress on this. Next time we’ll take all of it to Goodwill so please take (or set aside) what you want before then.

New Money Market account and on-line banking at SunTrust: Opened new account so we can get some add’l interest. Left signature document in kitchen desk for Dan to sign and take/send to bank. Also set up on-line banking and will start using next week. If you want the sign-on and password, just let me know. Talked to Eileen about possible credit card for use by anyone staying at Ivanhoe. We can also continue to use the debit cards (just need to pass information to me via email so I can reconcile the account.)

House Value: Roy gave us an appraiser contact; Fred Beire who charges about $300 for an appraisal. Let me know if you think we should proceed with this or just use a real estate agent to assess house value. When I was in SunTrust last week they used an internal program that estimated $149,00 to $175,000. That would be very good news .

Legal Documents: I’ve reviewed most of Mom’s legal documents for the lawyer and will be copying in advance of his review. I’ll be sending you a list this coming week so you’ll see what we have. Please let me know if you have any concerns or want more information once you get it.

Funeral and Burial Arrangements: Part of Legal Doc review led to the Mackey Funeral Expense insurance (most of the funeral expenses are covered and you’ll see more this week on this). Talked to a very nice man who sent me more info re: burial plots, etc. which led Bob and I to Woodlawn Cemetery this morning for a drive through while Morris was with Mom (at the other end of Edwards Road, across from Red Lobster). Their office was open so we talked to another nice man who gave us the following info re: burial plot (not included in Mackey). Lot’s of different choices but discounted if we arrange prior to Mom’s death. Two basic choices: in-ground burial or mausoleum.

In-ground
Burial plot: $1,595 to $3,000 + (based on location within cemetery) . Plots are available.

Open/close grave: $1,095

Bronze burial plaque/marker (no headstones): $2,000 to $5,000 + (differences based on size, number of words, decoration, etc.)

Burial Vault (cement enclosure for the casket): Mom already has this with her Mackey service


Mausoleum Option
Crypt: $3,500 to $5,000 + (depending on location, inside or outside access, level/height of placement – six levels; eye level placements are more expensive than ground level or top level

Bronze burial marker: Each one the same – standard: $915

Open/close crypt; $795

Benefits of Woodlawn
Close to Ivanhoe

We can pay over time with no interest charged.

Part of a nation-wide “chain” – Dignity

Have a bereavement travel program which provides lower cost air travel, hotel and car rentals for immediate family traveling to the funeral.

It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Greenville, very open, no headstones, looks like a nice place and is well-maintained. Have no idea how it might compare to other Greenville cemeteries.

Dependent on a number of things, the mausoleum choice can be slightly less expensive. More people are picking mausoleums for some reason these days, according to the cemetery guy – preferring not to be under ground.


The sooner we make this decision, the better off we’ll be since we can get this decision behind us and start paying for it. Last minute decisions will cost more according to cemetery guy. I would suggest Vic, Tom and Dan do a drive-through and give others their impressions of the place. I have no idea of a cost comparison. Proximity to Ivanhoe and the look of the place sort of sold us. Open to any other options if someone wants to offer one.

If choosing, in-ground placement, the man suggests seriously thinking about buying more than one spot since inevitably family members seem to want to be buried next to “kin” down the road. Bob and I wouldn’t be interested but others might. Like buying real estate, can always be sold

Church of the Redeemer Episcopal Church
Rec’d a call from Jackie Smith who is the Eucharistic minister at Redeemer. She was very concerned about Mom since she says she’s called a couple of times (last week and last night) and only heard someone fumbling with the phone but no one answering. Can’t explain last might since we were here when she would have called. She would very much like to bring Mom communion every Sunday if Mom wants it. I forget now who is here next weekend but Jackie is scheduled to come at noon next Sunday. If you would like to change that for some reason or Mom doesn’t want her to come at that point, just give Jackie a call. Her phone numbers are on the refrigerator. Father Bob Horowitz is the new pastor and Jackie says he is a wonderful man, and much nicer than the former priest, the one who married Mom and Morris.

All for now.