File photo
File photo
Leonard Zielinski is strengthened by seeing funeral directors across Illinois going above and beyond traditional methods to do their job during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Zielinsi, president of the Evanston-based Cook County Funeral Directors Association, makes no secret about seeing directors as guardians of public health above all of else.
“It is encouraging to see that funeral directors have become resourceful in maintaining this effort to protect families,” he told the Chicago Tribune in describing the ways they are working to help mourning families say goodbye to loved ones in the era of the coronavirus crisis limiting funeral home and graveside gatherings to just 10 people.
“It’s important to let the families know that these are steps that must be taken to protect them,” Zielinski said. The small gathering mandate comes from the Centers for Disease Control's social distancing mandates.
Online platforms like Facebook Live and Zoom are being used as a way for families to say their final goodbyes.
John Haben, whose family has been in the business for nearly a century, said he has been using the streaming options as well as offering secure websites as an option for memorial services, funerals and graveside services.
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